UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT   OF   CAPT.   AND    MRS. 
PAUL  MCBRIDE  PERIGORD 


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IJKIVERSITY  of  GALIFUKNj 
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LOS  ANGELES 
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HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 


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THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

HBW  YORK  •    BOSTON  •   CHICAGO  •    DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •    SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •    BOMBAY  •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  tm. 

TORONTO 


HELPING  MEN  OWN 
FARMS 

A  PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION 

OF 

GOVERNMENT  AID  IN  LAND  SETTLEMENT 


BY 
ELWOOD  MEAD 

PROFESSOR  OF  RURAL  INSTITUTIONS 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

FORMER  CHAIRMAN,   STATE    RIVERS   AND   WATER    SUPPLV 

COMMISSION.    VICTORIA,    AUSTRALIA 


il5eto  gorb 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1920 

All  rights  reserved 


OOPYEIQHT,  1920, 

BT  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  June,  1920. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     State  Aid  in  California  Due  to  Economic 

AND  Social  Needs i 

II    National  Carelessness  in  the  Disposal  of 

Public  Lands 12 

III  Australia's  Influence  of  the  Land  Pol- 

icy OF  California 29 

IV  State  Aid  in  Italy,  Denmark,   Holland, 

and  the  British  Isles 39 

V    Methods  and  Results  of  State  Aided  Set- 
tlement IN  Victoria 64 

VI    The  Practical  Teachings  of  Australian 

State  Aided  Settlement       ....     82 
VII    The    Defects    of    Private    Colonization 
Schemes  as  Shown  by  Practical  Re- 
sults in  California 94 

VIII     California's  First  State  Settlement: 

Purchase  of  the  Land;   Irrigation;   Subdivi- 
sion;   Selection    of    Colonists;    Aid    given 

(3^  Farmers ^^^ 

a?        IX    Aid  to   Farm   Laborers  in  the   Durham 

'"^  Settlement 128 

'g  X     Social  Progress  Through  Cooperation  at 

P  Durham HO 

S         XI    The  Capital  Required  by  Settlers     .     .   161 
oi       XII    The  Lessons  of  the  Durham  Settlement  178 

03°      XIII     Homes  for  Soldiers 192 

^      XIV    The  Function  of  Government  in  Social 

^  AND  Industrial  Development  .      .      .198 

^      Appendix.     California  Land  Settlement  Act     .213 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Plan  of  Community  Center Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Reserve  for  community  purposes 23 

Farmyard  in  Italy 45 

Preparing  land  for  irrigation 97 

Settler's  home  at  Durham  built  by  Board     ....  97 

Making  concrete  pipe  for  settler's  use 1 1 1 

Plan  for  developing  a  Durham  farm I2i 

Farm  laborer's  home  at  Durham 137 

Pure  bred  Holsteins  on  Durham  farm 137 

Community  cold  storage  plant,  Chico,  showing  arrange- 
ment of  boxes 155 

Australian  service  men  on  visit  to  Durham  .      .      .      .189 


HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 


CHAPTER  I 

STATE  AID  IN  CALIFORNIA  DUE  TO 
ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  NEEDS 

In  19 1 7  California  entered  on  a  new  policy  in  rural 
development.  Under  it  the  State  is  buying  large 
tracts  of  unimproved  land,  cutting  them  up  into  small 
farms  and  farm  laborers'  allotments,  providing 
roads,  water  supply,  and  other  things  needful  to  the 
comfort  and  well  being  of  the  future  owners,  and  is 
then  selling  these  farms  and  allotments  to  worthy 
landless  people  for  a  small  sum  in  cash  with  a  long 
time  in  which  to  pay  the  remainder.  Each  settle- 
ment has  a  competent  director  who  is  helping  the 
colonists  to  grow  better  crops,  to  own  better  stock, 
to  work  together  in  buying  and  selling,  and  to  build 
up  a  sound  community  life.  Settlers  are  able  to 
borrow  money  for  making  improvements  on  long 
time  at  a  low  rate  of  interest.  They  have  the  ad- 
vice of  the  experts  of  the  State  Agricultural  College 
in  laying  out  and  equipping  their  farms.  In  many 
ways  the  obstacles  which  have  harassed  settlers  in 
the  past  have  been  lessened  or  removed;  and  the 
dream  of  the  home  seeker  has  been  made  a  reality. 
The  State  entered  on  this  task  because  private  en- 
terprise was  not  meeting  the  State's  needs.  It  was 
not  doing  the  things  which  pubhc  welfare  required. 


2  HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Although  rural  life  in  California  has  a  healthfulness 
and  charm  equalled  in  few  other  places  in  the  world, 
the  growth  of  the  country  was  not  keeping  pace  with 
the  growth  of  the  cities.  Land  prices  were  rising, 
the  commissions  and  expenses  of  private  coloniza- 
tions added  greatly  to  the  burdens  of  the  farm  buyer 
who  had  little  capital.  There  was  need  for  a  credit 
system  which  would  enable  poor  settlers  to  improve 
and  equip  their  farms  but  none  had  been  provided. 
There  was  an  urgent  need  of  creating  in  the  country 
a  sound  community  life,  where  healthy  vigorous 
American  children  would  flourish,  and  thus  lessen  the 
menace  of  growing  industrial  unrest  in  the  cities  and 
the  creation  of  an  alien  oriental  tenantry  in  the 
country. 

Private  colonization  had  failed  in  large  measure 
to  create  the  conditions  needed  to  promote  growth 
or  ensure  a  high  rural  civilization  in  the  future.  Its 
methods  were  not  based  on  a  study  of  the  needs  of 
agriculture  or  rural  progress.  This  is  not  a  criticism 
of  men  or  of  methods,  but  a  statement  of  a  situation. 
Private  colonization  was  following  the  course 
adopted  by  the  Federal  and  State  authorities.  Both 
had  failed  to  realize  that  the  condition  under  which 
men  live  on  and  cultivate  farms  does  more  than  any 
other  influence  to  shape  rural  civilization  and  in  the 
end  determine  the  safety  and  strength  of  the  nation. 
The  effort  and  the  thought  needed  to  create  the  best 
conditions  had  been  dodged  by  both.  Public  land 
had  been  given  away  or  sold  with  reckless  prodigal- 
ity. Seven  million  acres,  including  some  of  the  best 
farming  land  in  California,  were  included  in  Mexi- 
can grants.     The  Southern  Pacific  Railway  sold  the 


STATE  AID  IN  CALIFORNIA  3 

millions  of  acres  of  its  land  grant  in  any  sized  tracts 
to  any  persons  who  would  buy;  and  the  same  policy 
was  followed  in  the  sale  of  state  lands.  In  19 17, 
310  individuals  or  corporations  owned  over  jfour 
million  acres  of  farming  land  in  California.  When 
the  State  Land  Settlement  Board  wanted  to  buy  land 
for  a  new  colony,  it  had  offers  of  80  tracts  varying 
in  area  from  4,000  to  12,000  acres.  These  offers 
included  over  500,000  acres  suited  to  settlement  in 
small  farms.  Yet  all  of  the  land  was  held  by  50 
non-resident  owners  and  either  not  cultivated  at  all 
or  farmed  by  tenants. 

What  happened  in  California  went  on  in  other 
states.  Florida  sold  four  million  acres  to  one  specu- 
lative buyer  for  twenty-five  cents  an  acre.  Texas 
paid  for  its  state  Capitol  with  12,500  farms  of  160 
acres  each.  A  poor  German  peasant  lad,  who  knew 
the  power  that  lay  in  the  ownership  of  land,  was 
able  in  one  lifetime  to  become  owner  of  a  domain 
larger  than  the  State  of  Delaware.  There  are  coun- 
ties in  Illinois  and  Kansas  where  half  the  farming 
land  is  owned  by  non-resident  aliens. 

These  conditions  were  created  because  as  a  nation 
we  have  been  careless  about  things  that  affect  the 
social  or  economic  life  of  the  farm.  Instead  of  try- 
ing to  find  out  how  much  land  was  needed  to  make  a 
living  area  or  to  restrict  ownership  to  those  who 
would  live  on  the  land  and  cultivate  it,  we  sold  land 
to  any  one  who  had  the  money  to  pay  for  it.  The 
kind  of  civiHzation  that  might  grow  up  on  it  was 
left  to  chance. 

Ownership  of  land  had  not  been  regarded  as  a 
trust.     No  one  had  given  thought  to  the  influence 


4  HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

of  land  tenure  in  shaping  a  people's  destiny.  When 
an  owner  held  land  out  of  use  or  wore  it  out  by- 
wasteful  methods  of  tillage,  his  action  was  not 
looked  on  as  a  public  evil.  The  pioneer  idea  was 
that  each  man  was  to  look  out  for  himself  and  do 
with  land  or  any  other  resource  as  he  saw  fit  as  long 
as  he  kept  within  the  law  For  over  a  century  the 
nation  followed  this  careless  profligate  policy. 
There  was  no  serious  objection  because  there  was  so 
much  good  free  or  cheap  land  that  any  one  who 
wanted  a  farm  could  get  it.  Opinions  changed  when 
the  fertile  free  land  was  gone  and  the  land  privately 
owned  began  to  be  so  costly  that  a  large  percentage 
of  the  Americans  who  sought  farms  on  credit  were 
unable  to  pay  for  them. 

The  best  rural  hfe  in  California  Is  found  where 
land  can  be  irrigated  or  where  enough  rain  falls  to 
enable  orchards  or  high  priced  crops  to  flourish. 
This  kind  of  land  Is  In  demand.  The  price  and  the 
yearly  rental  of  It  have  risen  rapidly  In  recent  years. 
It  now  sells  without  Improvements  for  from  $ioo 
to  $500  an  acre  and  rents  for  from  $10  to  $75  an 
acre.  There  were  thousands  of  families  In  Cali- 
fornia who  had  an  Intense  longing  to  own  farms  and 
who  were  well  fitted  by  character  and  experience  to 
succeed  if  they  could  get  a  start  on  good  land. 
Prior  to  19 17,  they  could  not  get  this  start  because 
they  lacked  the  money  required  to  make  It  a  safe 
business  venture.  The  buyers  needed  cash  to  make 
first  payments  on  the  land,  to  build  houses  and 
barns,  to  buy  livestock  and  tools,  and  to  put  in  the 
first  crop. 

Thousands  of  Americans  who  did  not  realize  the 


STATE  AID  IN  CALIFORNIA  5 

heavy  cost  of  Improving  and  equipping  a  farm  had 
lost  their  small  capital  trying  to  buy  under  condi- 
tions that  made  failure  inevitable.  Others  had  be- 
come embittered  as  they  saw  the  hope  of  landed 
independence  grow  more  dim  and  remote.  Under 
these  conditions  had  arisen  a  new  and  keen  competi- 
tion in  tenant  farming. 

The  owners  of  great  landed  properties  derived 
their  income  mainly  from  rentals.  As  the  demand 
for  land  grew,  the  rent  rose  through  the  competition 
of  tenants.  The  one  who  would  pay  the  most 
money  or  give  the  largest  share  of  the  crop  got  the 
land.  In  these  competitions,  Oriental  farmers  or 
other  aliens  who  could  pay  high  prices  because  they 
have  a  low  standard  of  living,  secured  control  of  a 
larger  and  larger  percentage  of  the  best  farming 
land.  As  citizens  and  as  builders  of  rural  society, 
these  aliens  were  in  sorry  contrast  to  the  State's  first 
settlers,  who  were  the  finest  type  of  American  citizen 
this  nation  had  produced.  The  California  pioneer 
had  been  a  citizen  first,  a  money  maker  second.  He 
was  generous  and  public  spirited  to  a  fault.  In  con- 
trast, the  alien  renter  had  no  Interest  in  rural  wel- 
fare. He  had  a  racial  aloofness  and  he  farmed  the 
land  to  get  all  he  could  out  of  it  In  the  period  of  his 
lease.  Wherever  he  displaced  the  American,  he  put 
rural  life  on  the  down  grade.  This  Is  well  por- 
trayed by  Mr.  T.  C.  Chamberlain,  one  of  the  in- 
vestigators of  the  State  Colonization  Commis- 
sion : — ^ 

"  There  can  be  no  more  conclusive  proof  of  the  need  for 
1  Report  on  Colonization  and  Rural  Credit,  1917. 


6  HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

a  sound  policy  of  land  settlement  than  the  social  conditions 
which  prevail  at  the  present  time  in  the  Placer  County  fruit 
belt. 

"  In  the  vicinity  of  Penryn  there  are  eight  ranches  being 
run  by  owners,  while  sixty  are  rented.  Although  the  pro- 
portion of  rented  ranches  in  other  sections  is  smaller,  fully 
50  per  cent,  of  the  ranches  for  the  entire  fruit  belt  are  rented. 
There  are  about  twenty  ranches  in  the  vicinity  of  Penryn 
whose  owners  live  outside  the  county.  The  resident  owners 
in  many  cases  work  elsewhere.  It  is  a  common  experience 
to  find  four  or  five  fruit  ranch  owners  working  for  a  salary 
in  a  fruit  house.  Some  of  the  town  people  say  a  man  cannot 
get  a  job  in  a  fruit  house  unless  he  owns  a  ranch  and  ships 
his  fruit  through  the  house  affording  him  employment. 
Among  the  owners  who  are  not  employed  off  the  ranches, 
some  spend  their  time  in  improving  their  places,  attending 
to  the  irrigation,  and  even  working  for  their  own  tenants 
for  wages,  but  the  greater  number  spend  their  time  in  their 
automobiles. 

"Not  only  is  the  problem  one  of  tenancy  and  absentee 
landlordism,  but  the  question  of  the  large  landowner  enters 
in.  In  the  Penryn  district  one  company  owns  sixteen  ranchesi 
and  rents  six  more.  All  these  ranches  are  rented  to  Japanese 
and  a  superintendent  spends  his  time  motoring  from  one 
ranch  to  another.  A  number  of  other  ranchers  own  from 
two  to  six  places.  Five  men  in  the  Penryn  district  own 
twenty  ranches  between  them. 

"  The  result  of  these  rented  ranches,  absent  landlords,  and 
large  holdings  is  a  most  deplorable  social  condition.  After 
looking  out  over  the  country  surrounding  Penryn  and  seeing 
the  luxuriant  development  of  the  fruit  ranches  and  the  many 
large  residences,  one  expects  to  find  a  prosperous  and  thriving 
community.  But  on  investigation  it  is  found  that  almost  all 
of  these  large  houses  are  vacant  and  in  place  of  a  prosperous 
town  there  is  only  a  lingering  memory  of  conditions  as  they 
used  to  be.  The  owners  who  previously  worked  their  own 
places  and  built  these  homes  have  now  rented  to  the  Japanese 


STATE  AID  IN  CALIFORNIA  7 

and  moved  elsewhere  to  live.  It  is  confidently  stated  by 
older  residents  that  Penryn  was  a  better  town  twenty  yeais 
ago  when  the  surrounding  country  had  not  even  approached 
its  present  development.     Socially,  the  community  is  dead." 

Moreover  this  kind  of  tenant  cultivation  had  been 
robbing  the  soil  of  the  stored  up  fertility  of  cen- 
turies. Crop  yields  were  falling  off ;  weed  and  insect 
pests  were  increasing.  The  kind  of  agriculture 
practiced  by  the  tenants  would  end  in  rural  poverty; 
and  thoughtful  minds  realized  that  no  change  would 
come  until  the  people  who  tilled  the  soil  had  the  same 
love  for  it  that  is  felt  in  France,  where  keeping  up 
the  soil  fertility  of  the  farm  is  a  civic  duty.  There 
the  land  is  more  fertile  than  it  was  a  thousand  years 
ago  and  larger  crops  of  grain  are  now  grown  than 
when  the  country  was  ruled  by  the  Caesars. 

As  long  as  cheap  land  was  abundant,  state  aid  in 
land  settlement  was  not  an  urgent  need;  but  when 
the  fertile  free  land  was  gone,  those  who  longed 
to  become  farm  owners  and  who  were  needed  as 
farmers  by  the  public  found  it  impossible  to  pay  for 
the  high  values  due  to  the  towns,  roads,  schools,  and 
markets  which  civilization  had  created.  How  hard 
the  struggle  was  becoming  for  small  farmers  and 
how  heavy  the  burden  of  fear  and  anxiety  on  all  the 
members  of  the  family  can  be  realized  only  by  those 
who  were  In  close  contact  with  their  efforts.  There 
was  dire  need  of  capital,  credit,  advice,  and  organiza- 
tion; and  none  had  been  provided. 

What  the  California  Land  Settlement  Act  sought 
to  achieve  Is  outlined  In  Its  first  section :  — 

"  Section  i.     The  legislature  believes  that  land  settlement 


8  HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

is  a  problem  of  great  importance  to  the  welfare  of  all  the 
people  of  the  State  of  California  and  for  that  reason  through 
this  particular  Act  endeavors  to  improve  the  general  economic 
and  social  conditions  of  agricultural  settlers  within  the  State 
and  of  the  people  of  the  State  in  general."  Senate  Bill  No. 
584,  Chapter  755. 

In  order  to  achieve  these  results  the  State  created 
a  Land  Settlement  Board  and  loaned  it  money  at  four 
per  cent,  interest.  All  the  money  so  loaned  has  to 
be  repaid  in  fifty  years.  Each  settlement,  therefore, 
has  to  be  a  solvent  enterprise;  it  has  to  pay  its  way. 
If  state  settlement  is  to  give  better  results  than 
private  settlement,  it  must  do  it  by  using  better 
methods  and  being  more  efficient.  That  any  public 
body  can  cut  out  waste  and  expense  and  thus  suc- 
ceed where  private  enterprise  fails  is  not  a  widely 
accepted  view  in  this  country,  but  the  California 
Land  Settlement  Act  is  based  on  the  assumption  that 
this  can  be  done. 

The  Act  saves  for  settlers  the  profits  of  private 
colonizers,  the  expense  of  selling  agents,  and  the 
high  interest  rates  which  settlers  have  had  to  pay;  it 
extends  and  amortizes  payments;  it  provides  expert 
advice  and  direction;  it  helps  settlers  to  cooperate 
in  buying  and  selling;  it  lessens  the  time  in  which 
each  farm  may  be  improved;  and  it  places  the  owner 
in  a  position  to  earn  out  of  the  land  enough  money 
to  pay  all  he  owes  when  it  is  due.  These  things  com- 
bined do  much  to  ensure  material  comfort  and 
financial  success  which  were  the  main  objects  in  the 
agitation  for  this  law.  What  has  since  transpired 
leads  the  board  and  many  careful  students  of  the 
laws  operation  to  believe  that  only  second  in  value 


STATE  AID  IN  CALIFORNIA  9 

Is  the  change  in  the  outlook  and  the  aspirations  of  the 
people  who  take  part  in  it.  It  is  made  clear  to  all 
of  them  that  buying  a  farm  simply  to  sell  it  again  at 
a  profit  is  an  economic  evil,  that  State  aid  is  intended 
only  for  those  who  wish  to  secure  land  as  permanent 
homes.  So  long  as  the  owner  only  sojourns  on  the 
land  until  he  can  "  make  his  pile,"  he  will  not  work 
to  build  up  an  attractive  social  life  in  his  neighbor- 
hood; but  when  the  farm  comes  to  be  looked  on  as  a 
permanent  possession  or  a  family  heritage,  a  stable 
and  attractive  rural  life  will  be  assured. 

The  Act  provided  for  a  board  of  five  members 
with  power  to  buy  the  needed  land  from  private 
owners.  The  board  could  either  improve  lands  be- 
fore they  were  offered  as  farms  or  homes  to  set- 
tlers, or  it  could  aid  settlers  to  make  improvements 
by  loans  up  to  $3,000  on  a  single  farm.  For  each 
settlement  there  was  to  be  a  superintendent  who 
would  give  advice  to  settlers  and  help  them  lessen  the 
time  and  the  cost  of  bringing  their  farms  into  full 
production  by  organizing  them  to  build  houses  and 
buy  livestock  and  implements  at  wholesale  for  cash. 
Each  settlement  was  to  be  a  planned  community  with 
the  settlers  acting  together  from  the  start  under  ex- 
pert guidance. 

This  social  land  policy,  which  would  give  a  man 
of  small  means  an  opportunity  to  own  a  farm,  was  a 
radical  change  from  the  ideas  and  the  methods  which 
in  the  past  had  shaped  rural  development.  Like  a 
knife,  it  cut  across  the  view  that  any  one  strong 
enough  or  shrewd  enough  to  own  the  earth  had  a 
right  to  do  so.  It  showed  that  we  were  beginning 
to  feel,  as  yet  vaguely  and  uncertainly,  that  no  coun- 


lo        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

try  founded  on  land  monopoly  or  menaced  by  it 
could  be  truly  free. 

The  passage  of  the  Act  was  an  immediate  chal- 
lenge to  public  attention.  The  Pacific  Rural  Press 
said  truly,  "  Never  in  educational  history  was  a 
lesson  so  quickly  learned  and  overwhelmingly  applied 
as  this  land  settlement  lesson."  Before  the  first  set- 
tlement at  Durham  was  a  year  old,  it  had  been  visited 
and  studied  by  officials  of  ten  American  States  and 
five  foreign  countries.  It  was  made  the  basis  of 
Secretary  Lane's  plans  for  soldier  settlements.  It 
has  affected  vitally  many  men  who  have  been  coming 
to  Durham  constantly  to  learn  what  they  should  do  in 
their  private  colonization  schemes.  With  the  pass- 
age of  the  Act,  the  State  entered  on  a  new  economic 
era. 

We  are  only  just  beginning  to  realize  that  our 
future  is  likely  to  be  determined  primarily  by  the  rela- 
tion of  the  people  to  the  land.  The  chaos  of  Russia 
has  grown  out  of  land  hunger;  no  one  fears  for  the 
safety  of  France  where  nearly  half  the  people  are 
land  owners.  We  have  often  stated,  but  little 
heeded,  the  facts  that  we  are  ceasing  to  be  a  land 
owning  nation  and  that  the  land  born  are  drifting  to 
the  cities.  We  have  yet  to  learn  what  the  older 
countries  of  the  world  already  know, —  that  keeping 
people  on  the  land  in  the  years  to  come  must  be  one 
of  the  main  endeavors  of  civilized  nations.  People 
cannot  be  kept  on  the  land  where  non-resident  owner- 
ship and  tenantry  prevail.  Nothing  short  of  owner- 
ship of  the  land  one  toils  over  will  suffice  to  over- 
come the  lure  of  the  city.  At  any  sacrifice,  at  any 
cost,  the  people  who  farm  the  land  must  be  enabled 


STATE  AID  IN  CALIFORNIA         ii 

to  own  it.     On  such  ownership  the  life  of  a  modern 
nation  may  depend. 

The  main  purpose  of  the  pages  which  follow  is  to 
help  in  the  solution  of  the  land  problems  of  the  future 
by  describing  the  conditions  and  the  influences  which 
led  to  the  passage  of  the  Land  Settlement  Act  in 
California  and  by  explaining  the  methods  and  poli- 
cies which  it  has  brought  into  operation.  Such 
description  and  explanation  ought  to  be  valuable  in 
extending  a  policy  which  gives  a  new  social  back- 
ground to  farm  life. 


CHAPTER  II 

NATIONAL  CARELESSNF.SS  IN  THE  DISPOSAL 
OF  PUBLIC  LANDS 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  new  land  poliqr  of  Cali- 
fornia and  to  understand  the  need  for  a  similar 
policy  in  other  States,  one  must  have  some  definite 
knowledge  of  conditions  in  the  past.  This  may  best 
be  gained  by  a  brief  review  of  our  country's  man- 
agement of  the  public  lands. 

American  land  laws  have  dealt  almost  wholly  with 
the  manner  in  which  the  public  domain  should  be 
sold  or  given  away.  The  tenure  in  all  cases  has  been 
that  of  an  unrestricted  absolute  ownership  and  there 
has  been  no  limit  to  the  amount  of  land  one  person 
might  obtain.  Between  two-thirds  and  three-fourths 
of  the  public  land  has  been  sold  to  speculators  or 
granted  to  railroads  and  other  corporations  and  to 
the  States.  Only  a  small  fraction  of  it  has  been 
transferred  directly  to  cultivators.  In  the  latter 
case,  the  farm  unit  has  over  great  areas  been  wholly 
unsuited  to  the  conditions  of  soil  and  climate ;  in  some 
cases  being  too  large,  and  in  others  too  small  to  form 
a  living  area.  There  has  been  no  scrutiny  of  the 
qualifications  and  the  equipment  of  settlers  to  deter- 
mine whether  they  had  the  money,  experience,  or 
aptitude  to  succeed.  Although  carefully  prepared 
information  about  the  equipment  a  settler  should 


THE  DISPOSAL  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS       i;^ 

have,  the  kind  of  cultivation  he  should  adopt,  and 
the  money  he  would  need  to  change  wild  land  into  a 
productive  farm,  would  have  been  of  immense  value, 
it  has  not  been  prepared.  Absolutely  no  public  aid 
or  direction  has  been  given  to  the  settler.  In  the 
costly  and  difficult  work  of  subdividing  and  develop- 
ing the  wild  land  of  this  country,  the  management 
of  the  public  domain  has  shown  a  distinct  lack  of 
constructive  purpose. 

Our  national  carelessness  as  to  how  land  was  ac- 
quired, held,  or  used,  grew  in  part  out  of  the  immense 
area  to  be  occupied,  and  in  part  out  of  transplanted 
English  ideas  of  land  ownership  and  land  tenure. 
These  were  not  democratic.  They  were,  on  the  con^ 
trary,  as  aristocratic  as  the  English  form  of  govern- 
ment. In  England,  land  monopoly  and  non-resident 
landlordism  were  regarded  not  as  evils,  but  as  a  part 
of  the  established  order  of  things,  like  the  church, 
the  king,  and  the  nobility. 

The  rich  lands  of  New  York,  Maryland,  Virginia, 
the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia  were  in  colonial  times 
held  mainly  in  great  estates  by  semi-feudal  land 
owners.  Even  after  the  pioneers  crossed  the  Alle- 
ghanles  and  took  possession  of  the  fertile  lands  of 
the  Ohio  Valley,  the  Idea  still  prevailed  that  a  landed 
aristocracy  should  govern  the  country.  In  South 
Carolina,  the  suffrage  was  restricted  to  white  men 
who  held  freeholds  of  not  less  than  fifty  acres.  In 
New  Jersey,  the  voter  had  to  own  real  estate  worth 
fifty  pounds.  In  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Mary- 
land, Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  New  York, 
ownership  of  property,  usually  real  estate,  was  a 
prerequisite  to  the  right  to  vote.     To  hold  office  in 


14        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

South  Carolina,  it  was  necessary  to  own  five  hundred 
acres  of  land  and  ten  negroes  or  real  estate  worth  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  A  governor  had  to  own 
one  thousand  acres  of  land  and  secretaries  and  judges 
had  to  own  five  hundred  acres. 

A  great  part  of  the  land  sold  by  the  thirteen  orig- 
inal States  went  in  large  tracts  to  speculators.  The 
federal  government  at  first  fixed  the  minimum  area 
which  could  be  sold  at  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 
and  made  the  time  of  payment  so  short  that  prac- 
tically none  but  the  wealthy  could  buy.  The  mini- 
mum area  which  the  government  would  sell  was  later 
cut  down  by  preemption  acts,  sixteen  in  number,  to 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  These  acts  also 
gave  actual  settlers  the  privilege  of  buying  the  land 
at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  an  acre,  and  made 
it  impossible  for  speculators  to  buy  settlers'  homes 
over  their  heads.  But  the  benefits  of  this  move 
toward  social  democracy  were  lost  to  the  poor  be- 
cause restrictions  on  speculative  buying  were  not 
made  sufficiently  rigid  and  because  settlers  commonly 
lacked  the  money  or  credit  necessary  to  enable  them 
to  erect  houses  and  begin  cultivation.  As  a  result, 
from  the  time  the  first  settlers  crossed  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  land  settlements  were  made  in  a  spirit  of 
speculation.  This  spirit  is  vividly  portrayed  by  Mc- 
Master  in  the  following  account  of  what  went  on 
until  the  wave  of  western  settlement  reached  the 
Mississippi : 

"  The  front  of  emigration  was  far  beyond  Elmira  and 
Bath.  Just  before  it  went  the  speculators,  the  land-jobbers, 
the  men  afflicted  with  what  in  derision  was  called  '  Terra- 
phobia.'     They  formed  companies  and  bought  millions  of 


THE  DISPOSAL  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS       15 

acres.  They  went  singly  and  purchased  whole  townships  as 
fast  as  the  surveyors  could  locate,  buying  on  trust  and  selling 
for  wheat,  for  lumber,  for  whatever  the  land  could  yield  or 
the  settler  give.  Nor  was  the  pioneer  less  infatuated.  An 
irresistible  longing  drove  him  westward,  and  still  westward, 
till  some  Indian  scalped  him,  or  till  hunger,  want,  bad  food, 
and  exposure  broke  him  down,  and  the  dreaded  Genesee  fever 
swept  him  away.  The  moment  such  a  man  had  built  a  log- 
cabin,  cleared  an  acre,  girdled  the  trees,  and  sowed  a  hand- 
ful of  grain,  he  was  impatient  to  be  once  more  moving.  He 
had  no  peace  till  his  little  farm  was  sold  and  he  had  plunged 
into  the  forest,  to  seek  a  new  and  temporary  home.  The 
purchaser  in  time  would  make  a  few  improvements,  clear  a 
few  more  acres,  plant  a  little  more  grain  and  then  in  turn 
sell  and  hurry  westward.  After  him  came  the  founders  of 
villages  and  towns,  who,  when  the  cabins  about  them  num- 
bered ten,  felt  crowded  and  likewise  moved  away.  Travel- 
ers through  the  Genesee  Valley  tell  us  they  could  find  no  man 
who  had  not  in  this  way  changed  his  abode  at  least  six 
times."  ^ 

At  the  outset  the  main  idea  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment in  selling  land  was  to  obtain  money  to  meet  its 
running  expenses.  The  easiest  way  to  do  this  ac- 
cording to  those  In  authority,  was  to  sell  the  land  in 
large  areas.  Five  million  acres  of  fertile  land  were 
bartered  away  In  Ohio  for  two-thirds  of  a  dollar  an 
acre.  One  million  and  a  half  acres  were  bought  by 
the  Ohio  Company  for  one  million  dollars.  Three 
and  a  half  million  acres  were  sold  to  private  spec- 
ulators. Two  million  acres,  embracing  the  spot 
where  Cincinnati  now  stands,  were  sold  to  a  rich 
Jerseyman  named  Symmes.  Thirty-five  million  acres 
of  the  richest  soil  In  the  south  were  sold  by  the  State 

1 "  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States."     McMaster,  Vol. 
I.  pp.  573-574- 


i6        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

of  Georgia  to  the  Yazoo  Companies  for  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  The  government  gave  no  thought 
to  the  creation  of  an  economic  rural  democracy. 

With  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  the  United  States 
entered  on  a  new  era  in  land  settlement.  The  Louis- 
iana territory  was  the  greatest  field  for  applying 
democratic  ideas  of  land  tenure  and  land  settlement 
ever  presented  to  a  self  governing  people.  Its 
nearly  two  million  square  miles  were  the  largest  area 
of  unpeopled,  undeveloped  country  ever  brought 
under  the  control  of  a  single  civil  policy.  It  was  a 
white  page  on  which  the  nation  could  write  whatever 
it  pleased.  Its  boundaries  included  such  a  wide 
variation  of  soil,  climate,  and  products  that  no  gen- 
eral law  for  its  disposal  and  management  could 
operate  with  satisfactory  results.  The  plans  for  its 
sale  and  development  should,  therefore,  have  had  all 
the  aid  that  science  and  economics  could  give. 

But  the  great  opportunity  for  constructive  states- 
manship was  not  grasped.  The  men  in  control  of 
the  land  policy  of  the  nation  took  absolutely  no  steps 
toward  classifying  the  lands  according  to  soil  and 
climate  and  determining  living  areas  for  different 
kinds  of  farming.  They  gave  no  heed  to  the  untold 
wealth  in  metals,  oil,  coal,  and  sources  of  hydro- 
electric power.  They  had  no  thought  of  retaining 
some  control  of  forest  and  grazing  lands.  They 
left  entirely  out  of  consideration  plans  for  irrigation 
and  rights  to  the  water  of  streams.  Any  study  of 
the  management  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  shows 
how  many  vital  things  were  absolutely  ignored. 
The  movement  of  people  westward  to  conquer  and 
own  this  vast  area  was  almost  as  planless  as  the 


THE  DISPOSAL  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS       17 

migration  of  the  buffalo  that  fed  on  its  native 
pastures. 

The  first  thing  needed  was  a  classification  of  lands 
which  would  take  into  account  the  relation  to  agri- 
culture of  soil  fertility  and  climate.  The  influence 
of  heat  and  cold  and  rainfall  and  the  kind  of  agri- 
culture best  suited  to  a  particular  section  should 
have  been  considered  in  fixing  the  size  of  the  farms. 
Moreover,  the  agricultural  resources  were  only  a 
small  part  of  the  natural  wealth  of  the  public  land. 
There  were  gold,  silver,  iron,  coal,  oil,  and  immense 
enduring  sources  of  hydro-electric  power.  There 
were  present,  therefore,  all  the  essentials  of  a  diversi- 
fied and  prosperous  life.  The  farm,  the  stock  ranch, 
the  lumber  camp,  the  mine,  the  store,  the  railway, 
and  the  factory, —  all  might  have  flourished  side  by 
side.  These  things  were  needed :  —  flexibility  in 
the  size  of  the  farms;  a  tenure  which  made  owner- 
ship depend  on  both  residence  and  cultivation;  an 
organization  of  settlers  which  would  lead  them  to 
think  and  act  together  in  creating  the  things  needed 
by  communities  and  in  lessening  the  awful  loneliness 
and  monotony  of  pioneer  homes;  and  a  rural  credit 
to  provide  money  for  the  improvement  of  farms. 
They  should  have  been  provided  by  constructive 
laws. 

The  framing  of  such  land  laws  was  a  task  requir- 
ing an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  country  and  a 
vision  which  looked  far  into  the  future.  The  fertile 
agricultural  lands  were  capable  of  supporting  a  dense 
population,  with  a  high  average  of  human  comfort. 
The  pasture  lands  of  the  Great  Plains  Region,  if 
not  overstocked,  would  continue  indefinitely  to  fur- 


1 8        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

nish  a  large  part  of  the  nation's  meat  and  wool. 
Some  of  the  irrigated  valleys  were  capable  of  grow- 
ing crops  of  such  high  value  that  forty  acres  would 
give  an  income  greater  than  the  highest  salary  paid 
a  state  official;  while  adjoining  areas  were  so  worth- 
less that  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  would  not  fur- 
nish enough  food  to  keep  a  light-footed  and  laborious 
sheep  from  starving  to  death. 

While  no  stakes  could  have  been  set  to  mark  a 
definite  boundary  between  the  humid  and  the  semi- 
arid  lands,  the  decreasing  rainfall  and  the  lessened 
and  uncertain  yield  of  crops  show  that  there  is  a  twi- 
light zone  in  which  the  size  of  the  farm  unit  should 
have  been  large.  In  this  zone,  no  settlement  should 
have  been  made  until  the  hazards  of  climate  and 
the  best  means  of  meeting  them  had  been  worked 
out;  and  settlers  should  have  been  warned  of  the  risks 
of  the  less  favorable  climate.  Here  a  widely  varied 
farm  unit  was  required  because,  as  the  rainfall  dimin- 
ished, variations  in  soil  had  greater  influence  on  crop 
yield.  There  are  sections  in  the  semi-arid  belt 
in  which  the  farm  unit  of  i6o  acres,  which  was  fixed 
by  the  homestead  law  passed  by  Congress  in  1862, 
might  with  safety  be  retained  and  there  are  other 
sections  where  the  area  should  have  been  increased 
to  1,200  or  2,500  acres. 

Forest  and  grazing  lands  should  have  been  re- 
tained in  perpetual  public  ownership.  The  forests 
found  mainly  in  the  mountain  areas,  if  rightly  con- 
served, would  have  supplied  cheap  building  material 
for  the  nation  for  generations.  The  cutting  of 
timber  should  have  been  provided  for  under  a  license 
or   lease   system.     Perpetual   public   ownership   of 


THE  DISPOSAL  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS       19 

forests  under  such  management  as  that  which  now 
prevails  in  the  Forest  Service  would  have  prevented 
great  areas  from  being  acquired  by  speculators. 
Speculation  has  been  an  unmitigated  evil.  It  has  in- 
flated the  prices  of  forest  lands  in  private  ownership 
so  that  it  is  now  necessary  to  cut  timber  with  total 
disregard  to  future  reforestation;  for  only  in  this 
way  can  lumber  be  so  produced  as  to  repay  the  huge 
sums  Invested. 

Another  reason  for  retaining  the  forest  lands  in 
public  ownership  is  that  experience  has  shown  that 
land  owned  by  the  government  is  better  protected 
from  fire  than  land  privately  owned.  Furthermore, 
some  of  the  forest  areas  in  the  arid  region  should 
have  been  preserved  because  of  the  influence  they 
exert  in  regulating  the  run-off  of  streams,  the  flow 
from  forested  areas  being  more  uniform  and  more 
nearly  in  accord  with  the  requirements  of  irrigation 
and  the  generation  of  power.  In  some  cases,  then, 
the  cutting  of  trees  should  be  governed  by  other  con- 
siderations than  the  profits  to  be  made  from  the  sale 
of  timber. 

The  grazing  lands,  which  include  the  non  irrigable 
arid  lands,  like  the  forest  lands,  should  have  been 
retained  in  public  ownership  and  leased  for  pastur- 
age purposes  under  regulations  which  would  have 
provided  for  reseeding.  This  would  have  main- 
tained their  feeding  value  indefinitely.  Public  con- 
trol would,  eventually,  if  not  at  first,  have  insured 
a  fair  distribution  of  the  grazing  privileges  and 
would  have  protected  the  owner  of  a  few  cattle  or 
sheep  against  the  encroachment  of  the  great  range 
stock  owners,  as  it  does  in  the  forest  reserves  of  to- 


20        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

day.  If  the  grazing  land  had  been  held  under  public 
control,  the  range  stockmen  would  have  been  bet- 
ter able  to  improve  the  quality  of  their  flocks  and 
herds,  and,  as  a  matter  of  self  interest,  they  would 
have  preserved  the  native  grasses.  Furthermore, 
the  highest  return  from  both  irrigable  and  grazing 
lands  in  many  sections  requires  that  they  be  used 
together. 

The  irrigable  lands  should  have  been  located  by 
a  careful  investigation  and  in  accordance  with  com- 
prehensive plans.  This  investigation  would  have 
determined  the  lands  which  would  give  largest  return 
from  irrigation  and  which  were  capable  of  being 
irrigated  with  the  least  waste  of  water.  The  differ- 
ence in  results  between  the  irrigation  of  good  land 
and  the  irrigation  of  poor  land  is  very  great.  In 
the  same  valley  some  lands  will  yield  under  irrigated 
culture  from  three  to  four  times  as  much  as  will 
other  lands.  The  poorer  areas  that  could  never  be 
profitably  irrigated  should,  therefore,  have  been  left 
forever  arid.  But  no  such  result  could  possibly  fol- 
low when  development  proceeded  without  any  pur- 
poseful direction. 

Along  with  the  selection  of  the  irrigable  areas 
there  should  have  gone  a  national  law  providing  for 
public  control  of  the  diversion  and  the  use  of  streams. 
It  should  have  declared  the  water  of  all  streams 
public  property  and  should  have  granted  no  rights 
except  the  right  of  use.  This  use  should  have  been 
governed  or  fixed  by  a  license  continuing  for  a  defin- 
itely brief  period.  Such  a  law  would  have  permitted 
future  adjustment  to  meet  changing  conditions  and 
would  have  saved  future  generations  from  being  ex- 


THE  DISPOSAL  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS       21 

ploited  by  the  holders  of  monopoly  or  speculative 
rights. 

The  conditions  of  aridity  and  the  growing  use  of 
streams  for  the  generation  of  hydro-electric  power 
make  the  working  of  the  English  common-law  doc- 
trine of  riparian  rights  impossible.  This  right  ought 
to  have  been  abrogated  either  by  statute,  or,  better 
still,  by  the  plan  followed  in  the  State  of  Victoria, 
Australia,  which  makes  the  land  in  the  bed  of  the 
stream  and  a  strip  on  either  bank,  from  one  to 
three  chains  wide,  forever  public  property.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Victorian  plan  the  State  becomes  the 
sole  riparian  proprietor  and  insures  to  all  the  people 
In  perpetuity  the  retention  of  boating,  fishing,  and 
other  privileges  which  ought  to  be  common. 

The  need  for  a  national  water  law  of  the  character 
described  has  been  every  year  becoming  Increasingly 
manifest.  The  rights  to  the  rivers  of  arid  regions 
affect  the  Interests  of  individuals  and  communities 
widely  separated  from  each  other.  Water  supplies 
vitally  affect  public  welfare.  They  have  their  origin 
in  rains  and  snows  falling  mainly  on  public  land.  To 
make  them  the  exclusive  private  property  of  indi- 
viduals or  corporations  has  caused  and  will  cause 
endless  litigation  and  controversy.  Before  all  the 
land  which  the  western  streams  will  Irrigate  has  been 
reclaimed,  water  will  be  turned  from  one  to  five 
times  a  year  upon  an  area  as  large  as  New  England 
with  New  York  added.  As  population  increases  and 
civilization  advances  the  demand  for  this  water  will 
increase  in  like  measure.  Ordinary  suits  in  courts 
of  law  deal  only  with  particular  phases  of  the  prob- 
lem.    The  litigation  does  not  concern  itself  with 


22        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

public  rights  and  interests,  and  the  chief  result  of 
decisions  when  rendered  is  to  furnish  grounds  for 
future  controversies.  Litigation  grows  from  these 
conditions  as  inevitably  as  weeds  from  a  neglected 
field.  Costly  and  destructive  law  suits  must  continue 
until  men  realize  that  only  a  definite  administrative 
control  can  prevent  great  economic  injustice. 

Legislation  aiming  at  such  control  was  neither 
attempted  nor  considered.  The  great  social  and 
economic  problems  of  the  twentieth  century  were  not 
foreseen.  The  value  of  direction  in  land  settlement 
was  not  realized.  The  need  for  classifying  lands  to 
meet  the  climatic  requirements  of  various  sections 
was  not  understood.  The  lack  of  a  constructive 
national  policy  seems  almost  incomprehensible  unless 
we  remember  that  the  Land  Office  was  far  removed 
from  the  problems  to  be  solved.  Few  men  in  au- 
thority had  seen  the  west  and  few  connected  with 
the  administration  of  the  Land  Office  knew  anything 
of  western  conditions. 

The  Homestead  Act  passed  by  Congress  in  1862 
gave  any  citizen  the  right  to  acquire  160  acres  of  land 
by  living  on  it  five  years  and  paying  a  small  filing 
fee.  When  the  Act  was  passed,  there  was  open  to 
settlers,  the  well  watered  and  fertile  land  of  Iowa, 
the  Dakotas,  Eastern  Kansas,  and  Nebraska.  The 
law  was  an  expression  of  opinion  that  160  acres  of 
this  kind  of  land  was  needed  to  make  a  living  area  for 
a  family.  But  one  acre  of  land  in  Iowa  would  give 
a  larger  yield  of  farm  crops  than  ten  acres  of  unir- 
rigated  land  in  Western  Kansas  or  Nebraska. 

Bearing  these  facts  in  mind,  let  us  review  the  re- 
sults of  the  operation  of  the  Homestead  Law  in 


THE  DISPOSAL  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS       23 

the  settlement  of  the  semi-arid  region.  The  reten- 
tion of  the  160  acre  farm  unit  gave  settlers  no 
warning  of  the  hazards  of  agriculture  in  sections 
with  a  yearly  rainfall  of  less  than  20  inches.  And, 
even  worse,  it  implied  that  160  acres  were  still 
a  living  area.  The  disastrous  results  which  fol- 
lowed settlement  will  remain  forever  a  reflection 
on  the  Government's  land  policy.  Tens  of  thous- 
ands of  people  rushed  into  the  semi-arid  territory 
under  the  delusion  that  it  was  a  land  of  reliable  rain- 
fall, or  soon  would  become  such  as  the  result  of 
settlement  and  cultivation. 

New  settlements  sprang  up  in  every  direction; 
important  towns  arose  almost  in  a  night.  Men 
hastened  from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  claim  their 
rights  under  the  Homestead  Law.  Remembering 
the  prosperity  which  similar  armies  of  settlers  had 
wrung  from  the  virgin  soil  of  the  land  of  Iowa  and 
Illinois,  capitalists  lent  support  to  this  new  outward 
surge  of  growing  population.  Hundreds  of  mil- 
lions of  dollars  were  lost.  But  the  loss  of  capital 
was  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  bitter  disappoint- 
ment of  the  settlers  themselves.  Many  of  them 
wasted  the  most  useful  and  pregnant  years  of  their 
lives  in  brave  but  mistaken  persistence  in  the  beliefs 
that  the  climate  would  change  as  the  land  came  under 
cultivation  and  that  there  was  some  magic  potency  in 
the  Homestead  Law  to  overcome  the  processes  of 
nature.  It  is  hard  for  one  who  has  never  met  the 
ragged,  hungry,  toil-worn  victims  to  realize  how 
much  and  how  intensely  they  suffered. 

Certain  areas  in  western  Nebraska,  eastern  Colo- 
rado, and  in  the  states  north  and  south  have  been 


24        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

settled  and  depopulated  three  or  four  times.  At 
one  time  every  house  in  what  had  been  a  town  of 
6,000  people  was  empty  and  abandoned.  A  larger 
farm  unit,  combining  cultivated  and  grazing  areas, 
would  have  insured  a  permanent  and  prosperous 
settlement  at  the  outset. 

If  the  kind  of  aid  and  direction  which  is  now  given 
under  the  California  Land  Settlement  Act  had  been 
given  to  pioneer  settlers  on  arid  and  semi-arid  public 
land,  it  would  have  been  an  economic  triumph  of 
democracy  which  would  have  enriched  the  nation 
and  made  country  life  over  a  vast  area  far  more 
attractive.  In  the  absence  of  such  aid  and  direction 
thousands  of  heroic,  oversanguine,  but  uninformed 
men  moved  with  their  wives  and  children  into  a 
region  they  did  not  understand  and  with  whose 
obstacles  they  could  not  cope.  Their  crops  failed, 
they  were  bedeviled  by  winds,  cold,  drouth,  and  in- 
sect pests.  They  wasted  their  efforts  and  lost  their 
hopes  and  ambitions.  A  tragically  large  percentage 
of  them,  impoverished  and  embittered,  gave  up  the 
land  they  had  fought  so  hard  to  cultivate.  Nearly 
all  this  suffering  and  loss  could  have  been  avoided 
under  a  carefully  thought  out  plan  of  development.^ 

The  early  land  policies  were  not  vicious,  but  they 
were  heedless  and  improvident.  No  one  realized 
that  in  the  near  future  the  nation  would  need  large 
numbers  of  people  living  on  the  land  and  content  to 
stay  there.     No  one  thought  of  the  great  estates  as 

1  In  1918  it  was  necessary  for  the  Government  to  loan  $5,000,000 
to  settlers  in  Montana  to  enable  them  to  live  through  a  crop  failure. 
The  hard  and  hopeless  conditions  of  life  of  these  settlers  are  vividly 
portrayed  in  recent  publications  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor. 


THE  DISPOSAL  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS       25 

a  social  menace.  Even  now  we  are  only  beginning 
to  realize  the  danger  of  land  hunger;  we  are  be- 
ginning to  realize  that  the  political  safety  of  a 
country  demands  that  those  who  live  and  toil  on  the 
land  should  own  it. 

From  the  end  of  the  Civil  War  to  the  close  of 
the  nineteenth  century  the  idea  in  all  men's  minds 
was  to  get  public  land  into  the  lands  of  private 
owners.  The  Federal  Government  had  given  the 
railroads  an  area  almost  as  large  as  the  German 
Empire.  It  granted  to  the  States,  for  educational 
and  other  purposes,  over  200,000,000  acres.  The 
railroads  and  the  states  wanted  to  turn  these  lands 
into  money.  It  was  believed  that  the  private  owner 
would  develop  them  as  a  matter  of  self  interest. 
No  one  realized  that  the  control  of  lands  would  give 
the  Government  a  social  opportunity  and  a  means 
of  shaping  rural  civilization.  Even  the  agricultural 
colleges  did  not  foresee  how  the  knowledge  and  the 
experience  of  their  faculties  could  be  used  to  create 
model  communities  on  the  areas  given  them  as  en- 
dowments, and,  instead  of  entering  on  a  land  set- 
tlement policy,  the  college  authorities  sold  the  land 
to  speculators  for  prices  far  below  its  real  value.^ 

Cents  Cents 

1  Alabama     9°     Maryland    54 

Arkansas     90      Massachusetts     66 

Connecticut    75      Mississippi    90 

Delaware    92      New  Hampshire   S3 

Georgia    90     New  Jersey 55 

Illinois     70      New  York  61 

Indiana  54      North  Carolina   50 

Kentucky    50     Ohio  54 

Louisiana    87      Pennsylvania    5^ 

Maine   85     Rhode  Island   4» 


26         HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  colonizing  of  these  great  properties  was 
usually  turned  over  to  selling  agents  who  had  no 
knowledge  of  agriculture  and  no  interest  in  the  buyer 
beyond  his  payments.  Agents  held  out  to  clerks 
and  artisans  roseate  hopes  of  the  money  which  could 
be  made  by  buying  lands  as  speculators  bought  corner 
lots  in  booming  towns;  net  by  farming  them,  but  by 
reaping  the  profit  the  settlers  ultimately  would  bring. 
When  the  ignorant  buyers  were  confronted  with  the 
heart  rending  realities,  they  too  often  found  that  to 
pay  for  their  homes  meant  that  for  years  they  would 
eat  poor  food,  wear  shabby  clothes,  be  unable  to 
educate  their  children,  and  spend  no  money  for 
recreation  and  pleasure.  Worse  than  the  selling 
methods  was  the  creation  of  a  poor  and  discontented 
tenantry,  which  is  described  in  the  Report  of  the 
Commission  on  Industrial  Relations,  published  in 
1914: 

"  In  1880,  Texas  had  65,468  tenant  families,  comprising 
37.6  per  cent,  of  all  farms  in  the  State.  In  igio,  tenant 
farmers  had  increased  to  219,571,  and  operated  53  per  cent. 
of  all  farms  in  the  State.  Reckoning  on  the  same  ratio  of  in- 
crease that  was  maintained  between  1900  and  19 10,  there 
should  be  in  Texas  in  the  present  year  (1915)  at  least 
235,000  tenant  farmers.  A  more  intensive  study  of  the  field, 
however,  shows  that  in  eighty-two  counties  of  the  State  where 
tenancy  is  highest,  the  average  percentage  of  tenants  will 
approximate  sixty.  .  .  . 

"  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  tenants  are  hopelessly  in 

South  Carolina 72      Vermont    82 

Tennessee    91      Virginia     95 

Texas     87      West  Virginia   60 

*'  N.  C.  Biennial  Rept.  1872-79,"  p.  164. 


THE  DISPOSAL  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS       27 

debt  and  are  charged  exorbitant  rates  of  interest.  Over 
ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  tenants  borrow  from  some  source, 
and  about  seventy-five  per  cent,  borrow  regularly  year  after 
year.  The  average  interest  rate  on  all  farm  lands  is  ten  per 
cent.,  while  small  tenants  in  Texas  pay  fifteen  per  cent,  or 
more." 

The  worst  feature  of  our  land  policy  was  that  it 
kept  the  public  from  realizing  the  enduring  needs 
of  rural  hfe.  It  was  rashly  wasteful.  It  took 
farmers  away  from  New  England,  where  they  were 
needed,  and  sent  them  to  the  far  west  to  grow  crops 
for  which  there  was  no  market.  The  fertility  of 
the  virgin  soil  was  recklessly  exhausted  because  other 
land  could  be  had  farther  west.  Our  policy  made 
men  restless  and  migratory  and  it  precluded  the  love 
for  a  farm  such  as  one  sees  in  France,  in  Denmark, 
and  in  Scotland  and  it  precluded  also  that  growth  of 
interest  in  neighborhood  affairs  and  that  pride  in 
one's  skill  and  success  as  a  cultivator  which  must  be 
in  men's  minds  if  land  born  people  are  to  be  kept 
from  moving  to  the  city. 

The  early  land  history  of  California  was  like  that 
of  the  rest  of  the  country.  The  State  inherited  the 
land  system  of  the  Spanish  Government.  Under 
this,  large  areas  had  been  given  away  as  grants  to 
individuals.  There  were  712  of  these  with  an  area 
of  7,901,357  acres  embracing  more  than  one-fourth 
of  all  the  land  suited  to  agriculture.  Through  the 
purchase  of  these  grants,  the  making  of  dummy 
homestead  entries,  and  the  buying  of  railroad  lands 
and  state  lands,  there  was  created  in  California  a 
large  number  of  great  farm  properties  that  in  time 
became   an  obstacle   to   the   State's   rural   advance. 


28         HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

In  the  report  of  the  State  Immigration  and  Housing 
Commission  for  19 19  the  influence  of  these  estates  is 
summarized: 

"  Idle  and  unimproved  lands  seem  to  constitute  one  of  the 
safest  and  most  profitable  investments.  And,  unfortunately 
for  the  unemployed,  the  investment  in  land  does  not  need 
the  assistance  of  labor  or  requue  the  payment  of  wages. 
Wealth  may  thus  be  invested  and  large  gains  realized  from 
it  by  merely  waiting,  without  its  owners  paying  out  one 
dollar  in  wages  or  contributing  in  the  slightest  degree  to  the 
success  of  any  wealth  producing  enterprise,  while  every  im- 
provement in  the  arts  and  sciences  and  in  social  relations, 
as  well  as  increase  of  population,  adds  to  its  value.  By  this 
means  we  foster  unemployment,  yet  it  is  considered  legitimate 
business  to  purchase  land  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  prevent- 
ing capital  and  labor  from  being  employed  upon  it  until 
enormous  sums  can  be  extracted  for  this  privilege." 

This  was  not  what  the  people  of  California  de- 
sired. In  no  part  of  this  country  is  there  greater 
civic  pride  or  more  thoughtful  effort  to  keep  the 
State  a  real  democracy.  There  is  a  wealth  of  altru- 
istic feeling  ready  to  be  enlisted  in  any  good  cause. 
Home  owning  has  always  been  encouraged  and  many 
voices  were  raised  against  the  drift  toward  tenantry 
and  alien  ovi^nership  of  land.  In  California  there 
was  a  favorable  field  for  a  social  land  settlement 
policy. 


CHAPTER  III 

AUSTRALIA'S  INFLUENCE  ON  THE  LAND 
POLICY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

The  experiment  in  planned  rural  development  by- 
California,  made  in  advance  of  other  states  and  when 
but  little  attention  had  been  given  to  the  subject  in 
this  country,  was  in  part  due  to  the  influence  on 
public  opinion  of  the  success  of  similar  action  in 
Australia  and  New  Zealand. 

San  Francisco  is  the  Pacific  gateway  to  those  coun- 
tries. Travelers  had  brought  reports  of  the  benefits 
wrought  by  their  social  and  democratic  land  policies. 
Some  personal  interest  was  created  by  the  fact  that 
a  Californian  was  chairman  of  the  commission  in 
charge  of  government  aided  closer  settlement  in  the 
irrigated  area  of  Victoria,  one  of  the  Australian 
States.  This  action  in  Victoria  was  due  to  a  desire 
to  secure  more  satisfactory  results  from  the  state 
owned  irrigated  works  on  which  large  sums  of  money 
had  been  spent.  The  investment  in  these  works  had 
proved  unprofitable.  They  had  not  brought  the 
expected  changes  in  agriculture  nor  an  income  from 
operation  that  had  been  anticipated.  As  a  final 
expedient,  all  of  the  works  had  been  placed  under  the 
management  of  a  commission  created  for  that  pur- 
pose and  this  commission  was  informed  that  its  first 
duty  was  to  bring  an  income  from  the  investment. 

A  study  of  conditions  showed  that  the  financial 

29 


30        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

failure  of  these  works  was  not  due  to  engineering 
defects  but  to  a  land  ownership  that  made  irrigated 
agriculture  impossible.  The  irrigable  area  was 
owned  in  large  tracts  and  was  used  mainly  for  dry 
farming  or  for  the  production  of  crops  which  could 
be  grown  by  the  aid  of  rainfall  alone. 

P'ew  people  hved  on  the  knd  and  little  labor  was 
required  to  cultivate  it.  The  change  to  intensive 
cultivation  which  irrigated  agriculture  required, 
meant  that  estates  would  have  to  be  subdivided  and 
sold  in  small  farms  or  that  a  comprehensive  system 
of  tenantry  be  introduced.  A  change  of  this  kind 
required  that  public  opinion  be  educated.  Either 
the  present  owners  of  the  land  would  have  to  be 
converted  or  their  lands  would  have  to  be  purchased 
and  sold  to  people  who  would  improve  and  farm 
them  differently. 

The  owners  did  not  care  to  sell  and  few  people 
appreciated  small  irrigated  farms.  The  profits  from 
crops  of  high  acreage  value  were  not  understood; 
there  was  objection  to  incurring  the  cost  of  pre- 
paring land  for  irrigation  and  a  reluctance  to  under- 
take the  skillful  painstaking  cultivation  that  was  nec- 
essary. It  was  a  common  expression  that  the  small 
farm  was  for  the  Chinese.  The  Australian  farmer 
was  accustomed  to  broad  acres.  He  felt  that  a 
change  to  smaller  fields  was  not  progress  but  the 
reverse.  The  people  who  were  willing  to  cultivate 
small  areas  had  as  a  rule  so  little  money  that  they 
could  not  improve  and  develop  an  irrigated  farm 
unless  their  meager  capital  was  supplemented  by  a 
credit  which  only  the  State  could  afford  to  extend. 

It  is  not  likely  that  Irrigated   closer   settlement 


AUSTRALIA'S  INFLUENCE  31 

would  have  been  attempted  in  the  face  of  these  ob- 
stacles, had  it  not  been  for  the  large  and  continuing 
losses  which  had  been  incurred  by  the  Government 
in  the  operation  of  the  irrigation  works  over  a  period 
of  25  years.  This  deficit  was  so  great  as  to  call  for 
drastic  action. 

The  basis  of  the  new  irrigation  policy  was  the 
purchase  and  subdivision  of  large  estates  and  their 
sale  in  small  Improved  farms  to  actual  settlers. 
These  settlers  were  to  be  helped  by  generous  credit 
and  by  expert  advice  and  direction. 

When  the  results  of  this  policy  began  to  be  fully 
manifest  and  its  success  was  assured,  one  realized 
the  contrast  with  the  waste,  the  unfairness,  and  the 
hardship  of  the  unplanned  rural  development  of  the 
western  half  of  the  United  States.  The  settlers  in 
the  new  Australian  Colonies  made  more  progress 
in  two  years  than  was  made  by  American  settlers  In 
five  years,  while  the  percentage  of  failures  In  Aus- 
tralia was  far  less. 

It  was  clear  that  If  the  same  methods  and  policies 
were  adopted  In  America,  equal  If  not  better  results 
could  be  secured.  And  as  year  after  year,  the 
national  benefits  became  more  apparent,  the  Ameri- 
can chairman  of  the  commission  desired  more  and 
more  to  introduce  the  same  system  into  America. 

On  a  visit  to  the  University  of  California  in  the 
summer  of  19 14,  he  met  the  Governor  and  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  State,  the  President  of 
the  University  and  the  Dean  of  the  College  of  Agri- 
culture at  a  conference  arranged  to  consider  what 
could  be  done  to  inaugurate  a  planned  rural  devel- 
opment in  California.     At  this  meeting  It  was  agreed 


32        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

that  private  colonization  had  failed  and  that  the 
Australian  plan,  if  adopted,  would  be  a  success.  But 
Governor  Johnson  believed  that  public  opinion  would 
not  support  so  radical  a  change  until  the  need  for 
it  was  better  understood  and  that  in  the  absence  of 
a  strong  and  favorable  public  opinion  the  legislature 
would  take  no  action.  It  wns  his  view  that  the  first 
step  should  be  educational ;  —  the  people  of  the  State 
should  be  made  acquainted  with  what  other  countries 
were  doing,  and  shown  that  if  the  same  care  and 
practical  judgment  were  used,  plarmed  rural  devel- 
opment could  be  made  a  solvent  undertaking. 

The  Governor's  views  prevailed.  It  was  decided 
to  inaugurate  an  educational  campaign.  The  Com- 
monwealth Club  of  San  Francisco  became  an  active 
factor  in  gathering  data  on  private  colonization. 
A  bill  creating  a  commission  on  colonization  was 
passed  by  the  legislature  in  19 15.  In  the  summer 
of  that  year,  I  returned  from  Australia  and  became 
chairman  of  the  commission.  After  thorough  study 
of  what  was  being  done  by  private  enterprises,  the 
commission  recommended  that  the  State  make  an 
experiment  or  demonstration  in  planned  rural  de- 
velopment on  not  to  exceed  10,000  acres  of  land, 
the  methods  to  be  similiar  to  those  followed  in  the 
Austrahan  States.  In  19 17,  a  bill  carried  into 
effect  the  commission's  recommendations.  The  law 
followed  closely  the  closer  settlement  act  of  the 
Australian  State  of  Victoria. 

Victoria  and  California,  although  7,000  miles 
apart,  are  alike  in  climate,  products,  and  people. 
Both  states  derived  their  laws  and  their  social  in- 
stitutions largely  from  Great  Britain.     Both  were 


AUSTRALIA'S  INFLUENCE  33 

rich  in  gold  and  both  owed  their  first  development 
to  its  discovery.  In  both  the  public  land  was  sold 
or  given  away  prodigally.  In  both  the  stock  ranch 
was  followed  by  large  wheat  farms.  The  farmers 
of  Victoria  and  California  are  more  alike  in  habits 
and  aspirations  than  are  the  farmers  of  California 
and  Massachusetts.  Many  Americans  went  to  Vic- 
toria in  the  gold  rush  and  remained  there  to  farm. 
In  both  States  many  of  the  people  have  followed 
several  occupations;  they  are  open  to  new  ideas,  and 
in  the  best  sense,  democratic.  Any  law  or  institution 
which  would  work  well  in  one  country  ought,  there- 
fore, to  work  well  in  the  other. 

The  Victorian  law  for  the  closer  settlement  of 
irrigated  areas  went  into  effect  in  1909.  In  effect, 
therefore,  Cahfornia  started  with  the  knowledge 
of  eight  years'  successful  experience  under  similar 
conditions. 

The  interrelation  of  the  rural  development  of  the 
Austrahan  State  of  Victoria  and  the  American  State 
of  California  goes  back  much  farther.  In  1886  the 
Honorable  Alfred  Deakin,  the  Minister  of  Agricul- 
ture of  Victoria  and  afterwards  Prime  Minister  of 
Australia,  came  to  California.  He  knew  the  need 
of  irrigation  in  Victoria.  The  alfalfa  fields  of  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley,  the  orange  groves  at  Riverside 
and  Porterville,  and  the  prosperous  cities  which  irri- 
gation had  created,  made  him  a  zealous  advocate  of 
irrigated  agriculture  in  his  own  State. 

The  results  which  won  his  enthusiastic  approval 
had  come  mainly  from  investments  of  private  capital. 
Owners  of  land  who  had  built  irrigation  works  saw 
that  the  best  way  to  make  them  profitable  was  to  sub- 


34        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

divrde  the  land  and  create  thereon  colonies  of  small 
farm  owners.  Some  of  the  irrigation  works  were 
built  by  bond  issues  of  irrigation  districts.  The 
taxes  needed  to  pay  interest  and  provide  a  sinking 
fund  for  these  bonds  made  it  unprofitable  to  hold 
land  idle  and  hastened  subdivision  and  closer  set- 
tlement. 

What  Mr.  Deakin  failed  to  see  was  the  admirable 
results  in  California  through  the  improvement  of 
small  farms,  gardens,  and  orchards  by  their  owners. 
He  did  not  realize  the  vital  significance  of  this.  He 
made  the  same  mistake  that  America  made  when  It 
passed  the  Reclamation  Act  without  providing  for 
the  subdivision  of  the  lands  reclaimed,  the  selection 
of  settlers,  or  aid  and  direction  to  inexperienced 
colonists.  He  returned  to  Australia  thinking  that 
the  engineering  problems  of  irrigation  were  the  vital 
ones;  that  if  water  was  made  available  It  would 
bring  about  profound  changes  In  the  life  of  the  peo- 
ple and  in  the  methods  of  farming.  Instead  of  first 
educating  and  converting  land  owners,  the  Victorian 
Government  built  hundreds  of  miles  of  canals 
through  pastoral  estates  where  one  could  ride  for 
miles  without  meeting  a  man  or  seeing  a  house.  If 
the  land  owners  had  been  called  on  to  raise  the 
money  for  this,  they  would  have  been  prompt  to 
object  just  as  the  land  owners  of  certain  portions 
of  California  would.  They  did  not  object,  how- 
ever, because  the  Government  furnished  the  money. 

When  these  canals  were  completed  their  works 
were  put  under  the  management  of  the  land  owners. 
In  one  district  which  had  over  600  miles  of  canals, 
one  farmer  owned  24,000  acres  with  only  20  people 


AUSTRALIA'S  INFLUENCE  35 

living  on  them.  Another  farm  of  36,000  acres  was 
used  as  a  sheep  pasture.  Another  of  23,000  acres 
was  largely  covered  with  timber.  There  were  many 
properties  of  from  1,000  to  5,000  acres. 

If  the  scheme  were  to  be  made  a  financial  success, 
the  irrigation  charges  would  have  to  be  heavy. 
Landowners  could  not  afford  to  pay  them  unless 
they  adopted  intensive  methods  of  cultivation.  To 
do  this  would  require  more  than  ten  times  the  num- 
ber of  people  who  were  available.  So  the  land 
owners  neither  levied  charges  nor  adopted  irrigated 
farming.  They  continued  to  grow  wheat,  which  in 
normal  years,  did  not  need  irrigation.  Much  of  the 
land  was  pasture.  A  typical  farmer  would  grow 
from  10  to  30  acres  of  fodder  crops  to  carry  his 
live-stock  through  the  dry  season;  the  rest  of  the 
land  went  unirrigated. 

There  is  no  reason  to  find  fault  with  the  land 
owners  because  the  plan  broke  down.  They  were 
hard  working  and  enterprising;  they  had  made  a 
good  living  and  some  of  them  had  been  getting 
rich  before  the  canals  were  built.  They  could  buy 
three  acres  of  land  for  what  it  would  cost  them 
to  level  one  acre  for  irrigation.  At  the  end  of  two 
decades  only  one  acre  in  five,  of  the  land  com- 
manded by  channels,  was  being  irrigated.  The 
waste  of  water  and  the  loss  of  revenue  to  the  State 
were  enormous.  There  were  less  people  in  some 
districts  than  when  the  canals  were  built,  and  less 
acres  of  irrigated  crops  than  ten  years  before.  The 
prejudice  against  irrigation  in  the  meantime  had  in- 
creased. In  a  letter  to  the  pre'ss  one  of  the  farmers 
voiced  their  attitude : 


36        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

"The  plain  truth  is  that  there  is  less  water  being  used 
instead  of  more,  and  there  are  fewer  irrigators.  Not  that 
the  land-owners  are  fools  and  cannot  see  where  their  best 
interests  lie,  or  not  because  they  are  too  well-to-do  to  trouble 
their  heads  over  it,  but  because  the  bulk  of  our  land  is  not 
suited  for  irrigation,  and  as  we  are,  to  our  cost,  becoming 
aware  of  this  fact,  we  are  letting  the  water  run  past  in 
preference  to  ruining  our  holdings.  The  water  is  cheap 
enough  —  too  cheap,  in  fact  —  but  the  results  obtained  from 
its  use,  unless  in  small  garden  plots,  are  not  such  as  to  induce 
us  to  use  it  freely." 

The  building  of  canals  had  not  created  irrigated 
agriculture ;  cheap  water  had  not  helped  poor  people 
get  land.  On  the  contrary,  it  had  raised  land  prices 
higher  and  made  it  harder  for  irrigators  to  acquire 
farms.  After  two  decades  of  watchful  waiting,  the 
Government  resumed  control  of  the  state  built 
works.  It  created  a  commission  to  find  what  was 
wrong  and  to  say  what  ought  to  be  done.  The  com- 
mission saw  no  way  out  except  for  the  State  to  buy 
the  land,  subdivide  it  into  small  individual  farms, 
and  sell  these  to  actual  settlers.  It  reported  to  the 
Government  as  follows : 

"  To  make  irrigation  in  this  State  a  success,  the  subdivision 
of  the  land  into  small  farms  and  the  sale  of  these  farms  to 
actual  cultivators  is  as  necessary  as  irrigation  canals.  This 
subdivision  is  opposed  by  the  present  owners  because  they  do 
not  want  to  sell  their  land  or  to  change  their  farming 
methods.  Most  of  the  owners  are  pioneers  who  were  here 
before  irrigation  was  thought  of.  These  men  are  wedded 
to  their  past  practices  and  they  neither  want  to  adopt  new 
ones  nor  make  way  for  those  who  will.  Their  feeling  is 
not  modified  by  the  fact  that  the  State  is  willing  to  pay  a  fair 


AUSTRALIA'S  INFLUENCE  37 

price  for  the  land.  The  question  to  be  settled  therefore  is: 
shall  conditions  be  left  as  they  now  are  or  shall  the  State 
go  ahead  regardless  of  the  opposition  certain  to  be  met. 
There  is  no  half  way  course.  It  should  be  either  a  complete 
change  or  none  at  all." 

In  place  of  farms  of  300  to  30,000  acres,  it  would 
create  farms  of  20  to  200  acres,  although  most  of 
the  farmers  were  certain  it  would  end  in  failure. 
A  large  delegation  of  land  owners  waited  on  the 
Government  and  agreed  to  help  bring  about  the 
change  to  irrigated  farming  if  the  farm  unit  were 
made  320  acres,  for  they  claimed  that  less  than  320 
acres  would  not  provide  a  living.  They  called  the 
plan  of  helping  people  get  started  on  small  areas 
"  spoon  feeding  "  and  said  that  it  would  ruin  the 
character  of  all  who  were  so  helped. 

The  lack  of  belief  in  irrigation  on  the  part  of  the 
land  owners  made  state  aid  and  direction  in  settle- 
ment a  far  more  serious  and  difficult  task  in  Victoria 
than  it  ever  will  be  in  California.  There  was  no 
hunger  for  small  farms  such  as  exists  in  the  United 
States.  The  continent  of  Australia,  with  only 
5,000,000  people,  has  an  area  equal  to  that  of  the 
United  States. 

Any  one  could  obtain  160  acres  of  public  land  upon 
the  payment  of  a  small  fihng  fee  and  obtain  up  to 
1,200  acres  upon  the  payment  of  a  small  annual 
tax.  Land  remote  from  railways  could  be  had  in 
any  sized  areas  and  for  a  very  low  figure.  The 
State  had,  therefore,  not  only  to  spend  large  sums 
of  money  in  buying  land,  but  to  find  settlers  for  it. 

There  were  serious  misgivings  about  securing  set- 
tlers from  other  countries.     They  could  be  obtained 

'1  '^f!  A  0  ?■  : 


38        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

only  from  countries  having  a  white  population.  It 
was  doubtful  whether  people  of  Europe  who  did  not 
understand  irrigation,  would  venture  to  the  end  of 
the  earth  to  obtain  land  that  could  only  be  farmed 
through  irrigation.  It  was  certain  that  only  those 
who  lacked  capital  would  do  so.  If  these  came,  they 
would  have  to  be  helped.  They  would  need  money 
to  build  houses  and  buy  live-stock.  The  payments  on 
the  land  would  have  to  extend  over  many  years. 


CHAPTER  IV 

STATE  AID  IN  ITALY,  DENMARK,  HOLLAND, 
AND  THE  BRITISH  ISLES 

Before  proceeding  far  on  the  large  and  costly  un- 
dertaking of  irrigated  land  settlement,  the  Victorian 
Government  desired  to  know  what  other  countries 
had  done  in  helping  poor  men  become  farm  owners; 
to  secure  all  the  information  available  about  the 
cost  of  improving  and  equipping  farms,  about  the 
areas  of  land  that  would  be  needed,  and  last  but  not 
least  about  the  prospects  of  obtaining  the  desired 
kind  of  settlers  from  Great  Britain  and  other  coun- 
tries of  Western  Europe. 

To  gain  this  Information  the  Government  sent  the 
Honorable  Hugh  McKenzie,  Minister  of  Lands,  and 
the  chairman  of  the  Water  Commission  to  Europe 
to  study  state  aided  settlement  in  Italy,  Denmark, 
Holland,  and  Great  Britain. 

Victoria  wanted  farmers  from  northern  Italy  be- 
cause they  were  known  to  be  steady,  intelligent, 
hard  workers  with  a  frugality  almost  beyond  belief. 
They  were,  moreover,  expert  irrigators.  They 
would,  therefore,  be  fitted  by  character  and  training 
to  get  the  best  results  out  of  the  new  irrigated 
farms.  Settlers  from  Denmark  were  wanted  be- 
cause Danes  had  already  done  much  to  put  the  dairy 
Industry  of  Victoria  on  a  paying  basis.  Many  of 
the  new  settlers  would  rely  on  the  income  from  dairy- 
herds  to  pay  living  expenses  in  making  their  start. 

39 


40        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  British  Isles  were,  however,  looked  to  for  the 
main  body  of  settlers  for  the  new  development. 

The  commission  was  received  by  the  Italian  Gov- 
ernment with  marked  courtesy.  No  effort  was 
spared  to  make  the  stay  there  instructive  and  pleas- 
ant. Visits  to  irrigated  and  closely  settled  country 
districts  were  made  in  company  with  officials  ap- 
pointed to  explain  conditions  to  us.  But  it  was  made 
clear  that  nothing  was  to  be  done  to  induce  farmers 
to  leave  Italy.  Pamphlets  describing  Australia  had 
to  stay  in  the  custom  house;  and  the  commission  was 
requested  not  to  talk  to  peasants  about  the  charms  of 
the  Antipodes.  The  large  movement  of  industrial 
workers  to  North  and  South  America  was  not  for- 
bidden because  it  meant  wealth  to  the  mother  coun- 
try. Laborers  could  earn  in  America  in  one  day 
as  much  as  they  could  earn  in  their  native  country 
in  a  week.  Some  would  stay,  but  many  would  re- 
turn in  a  few  years  with  what  in  Italy  was  a  fortune ; 
or  they  would  come  back  in  the  slack  season 
and  spend  their  big  earnings  freely.  The  month 
of  our  arrival,  5,000  had  returned  from  the  United 
States  and  over  6,000  from  Argentina  and  Brazil. 
In  any  case,  they  sent  much  money  back  to  relatives 
because  family  ties  in  Italy  are  close.  But  some  of 
the  authorities  felt  that  even  the  movement  of  labor- 
ers to  America  was  unfortunate,  that  the  stream  of 
money  which  came  from  their  earnings  did  not  com- 
pensate Italy  for  the  bad  influence  they  exerted 
when  they  came  home.  Their  high  wages  led  them 
into  bad  habits.  They  often  came  back  with  im- 
paired health  and  in  one  way  or  another  unsettled 
the  ideas  and  lives  of  home  keeping  folk. 


STATE  AID  41 

While  there  was  a  divided  opinion  about  American 
emigration,  there  was  nothing  but'  opposition  to  the 
movement  of  farmers  to  Australia.  Victoria  wanted 
farmers  who  were  a  success  at  home  and  who  had 
some  money.  Those  were  the  very  people  Italy  was 
struggling  to  hold.  If  any  should  go  to  Australia 
as  farm  buyers,  they  would  go  there  to  stay.  There 
would  be  few  return  visits.  Those  who  went  would 
burn  their  boats  behind  them  and  be  lost  to  the 
country  where  they  were  bred*.  They  would  not 
send  their  savings  back  to  the  homeland;  these  would 
be  spent  in  paying  for  and  improving  their  new 
farms.  It  was  also  apparent  that  Italy  had  a  rural 
problem  almost  as  serious  as  that  of  Victoria.  In 
southern  Italy,  the  peasants  were  leaving  the  old 
feudal  estates  in  such  numbers  that  the  land  was 
going  out  of  cultivation.  Lack  of  farm  workers  and 
demands  for  higher  wages  were  causing  great  areas  to 
be  turned  into  cattle  pastures.  This  meant  a  faUIng 
off  in  the  home  food  supplies  and  a  drain  on  money 
to  buy  these  products  abroad.  To  check  this,  the 
Government  was  helping  to  repeople  abandoned 
farms  with  peasants  from  Lombardy  and  Piedmont. 

In  repeopling  the  abandoned  farms  of  southern 
Italy,  the  Government  did  not  buy  the  estates  and 
sell  them  to  the  new  settlers  as  Victoria  proposed 
to  do.  Other  things  being  equal,  this  would  have 
been  the  simpler  and  better  plan,  but  it  would  have 
raised  questions  the  Government  had  to  avoid. 

Many  of  the  large  estates  in  Italy  have  been  held 
in  one  family  for  centuries.  Many  are  owned  by 
princes  and  members  of  the  nobilit}^  The  name  of 
the  family  and  the  name  of  the  estate  are  so  linked 


42        HELPING  iMEN  OWN  FARMS 

together  that  they  cannot  be  separated  without  hurt- 
ing the  pride  and  influence  of  people  powerful  in 
political  life  who  are  sincerely  interested  in  rural 
progress.  There  are  also  large  estates  owned  by 
corporations  who,  while  they  have  not  sold  their 
land,  have  cooperated  with  the  Government  in  car- 
rying out  its  plan. 

Although  the  tenant  cultivators,  according  to  the 
Italian  plan,  are  not  given  titles  to  the  land,  they 
are  given  a  permanent  right  to  its  use.  They  are 
enabled  to  build  up  for  themselves  and  their  children 
homes  which  are  almost  as  secure  as  a  freehold. 

The  settler's  title  may  be  defined  as  a  grant  of 
possession  and  use.  As  long  as  the  tenant  pays 
the  rent  and  keeps  the  land  properly  tilled  and  the 
buildings  in  repair,  he  cannot  be  turned  out.  The 
grants  or  leases  are  usually  for  very  long  terms  and 
they  may  be  perpetual.  They  are  in  some  cases  in- 
herited like  a  freehold  title,  but  the  tenant  cannot 
sell  or  mortgage  the  land  except  for  improvements. 
Holding  such  grants  or  leases  are  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  farmers  who  have  been  given  special 
privileges  under  a  law  passed  in  1887. 

The  tenant,  under  this  law,  can  mortgage  growing 
crops,  stored  produce,  livestock,  implements,  or 
buildings  to  obtain  money  for  any  purposes  approved 
by  the  Agricultural  Council  of  the  Nation.  If  the 
land  is  increased  in  value  as  a  result  of  spending  the 
money  borrowed,  the  lien  has  priority,  up  to  the 
amount  of  the  increased  value,  over  all  claims  of  the 
owner  and  over  any  mortgages  made  by  the  owner, 
though  the  mortgage  may  be  prior  in  point  of  time. 

The  tenant  may  mortgage  the  property  to  secure 


STATE  AID  43 

money  for  building  farm  homes,  barns,  fences,  and 
store  houses,  for  drainage  and  Irrigation,  for  plant- 
ing vines  or  fruit  trees,  for  constructing  roads,  and 
for  preparing  land  for  cultivation.  The  money 
loaned  is  advanced  only  as  the  work  for  which  It 
was  obtained  progresses. 

The  rate  of  Interest  must  not  exceed  a  maximum 
fixed  by  the  Government  and  the  term  of  loan  can  not 
be  less  than  three  years  or  more  than  forty-five  years. 
The  Interest  rate  may  start  at  2^  per  cent,  and  In- 
crease to  5  per  cent,  with  an  average  of  about  4^/^ 
per  cent. 

The  commission  visited  a  farm  held  under  one  of 
these  leases.  The  tenant  had  come  from  Lombardy. 
Before  he  took  the  land.  It  had  been  unoccupied  for 
years  and  used  only  as  a  cattle  pasture.  By  drainage 
and  Irrigation,  carried  out  with  money  borrowed 
from  a  land  credit  bank,  the  tenant  Improved  It  so 
that  his  annual  income  from  sales  of  milk  was  over 
$50,000  a  year. 

This  tenant  was  a  huge  muscular  figure  worthy 
to  sit  as  portrait  for  Longfellow's  "  Village  Black- 
smith." On  the  650  acres  which  he  rented  was  a 
huge  stone  chateau  over  600  years  old.  Three 
loads  of  hay,  each  drawn  by  the  white  oxen  of  south- 
ern Italy,  were  waiting  to  be  stored  away  In  what 
had  once  been  the  entrance  hall.  Two  hundred  and 
fifty  cows  were  stabled  In  the  basement.  The  liv- 
ing room  of  the  tenant  once  had  been  a  banquet 
hall;  several  families  lived  in  different  parts  of  the 
building.  The  building  not  occupied  by  families 
above  the  basement  was  filled  with  hay.  A  modern 
brick  dairy  barn  was  being  built  to  house  175  cows. 


44        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  money  for  this  had  been  borrowed  from  the 
government  credit  bank  at  23^  per  cent,  interest. 
The  bank  that  loaned  the  money  could  not  obtain  it 
at  this  rate,  but  the  difference  between  the  current 
rate  and  that  paid  by  the  tenant  was  made  up  by 
the  Government, —  this  bonus  being  justified  by  the 
increased  taxes  from  the  property  and  the  gain  in 
food  production. 

The  land  when  taken  over  by  the  tenant  was 
waste;  at  the  time  of  our  visit  it  was  worth  between 
$500  and  $600  an  acre.  On  the  marcite  fields  and 
on  some  of  the  alfalfa  fields  seven  crops  a  year  were 
being  harvested. 

Ninety  families,  230  persons,  lived  on  and  were 
permanently  employed  on  the  property.  Laborers 
were  paid  80  cents  a  day  with  something  more  in 
harvest  time;  some  had  houses,  others  had  lodgings 
in  the  chateau  without  rent  but  they  boarded  them- 
selves. In  addition  to  their  homes,  they  had  land 
enough  to  raise  their  own  vegetables  and  keep  some 
pigs  and  poultry. 

The  social  standing  of  the  tenant  farmer  in  Italy 
is  high.  This  tenant  had  been  decorated  twice  by 
the  King  and  made  a  "  Companion  of  the  Order  of 
Labor."  That  is  a  distinction  worthy  of  democ- 
racy. The  Pope  had  given  him  an  autographed  por- 
trait. 

The  gain  to  Italy  and  to  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try by  making  the  position  of  the  tenant  an  honor- 
able and  permanent  one  and  by  helping  wage  earners 
to  become  independent  cultivators,  has  been  great. 
Nevertheless,  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  the  wages 
of  the  farm  laborer  seemed  pitifully  small,  though 


STATE  AID  45 

they  were  higher  than  they  had  been  a  few  years  be- 
fore. The  head  of  a  family  was  paid  from  $125 
to  $175  a  year  with  his  house  and  garden  land 
free.  Others  were  paid  from  60  cents  to  $1.00  a 
day;  these  included  many  women.  If  it  were  not 
for  the  hope  of  being  able  to  cultivate  their  own 
fields,  which  the  government  credit  policy  makes 
possible,  the  outlook  for  Italian  rural  folk  would  be 
gloomy. 

The  Victorian  Government  knew  that  state  aided 
settlement  in  Denmark,  even  more  distinctly  than  in 
Italy,  had  been  a  conspicuous  success.  The  com- 
mission desired  to  find  out  what  features  of  the 
Danish  plan  had  most  to  do  with  this  result  and 
also  to  arrange  with  the  Danish  Government  for 
advertising  Australia's  opportunities.  It  was  hoped 
by  this  means  to  secure  a  large  sprinkling  of  Danes 
among  Victoria's  new  settlers.  The  Danes  who  had 
settled  in  Australia  had  done  well  and  were  greatly 
liked.  There  was  a  Danish  club  in  Melbourne, 
made  up  largely  of  people  who  had  country  interests, 
and  its  members  were  strong  supporters  of  the  Gov- 
ernment's closer  settlement  policy.  They  were  anx- 
ious that  their  countrymen  should  take  advantage 
of  the  chance  to  secure  homes  which  the  Australian 
policy  would  afford. 

Half  a  century  ago  land  in  Denmark  was  held 
mainly  in  large  estates.  The  small  land  owning 
farmer  did  not  exist.  Ninety  per  cent,  of  the  land 
was  cultivated  by  tenants.  Now  Denmark  is  a  na- 
tion of  small  farms  owned  by  their  cultivators. 
Tenantry  has  almost  ceased  to  exist.  This  change 
has  been  brought  about  mainly  by  the  aid  given  to 


46        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

poor  men  by  the  State  and  by  long  time  loans  of  the 
farm  credit, banks,  which  resulted  from  the  Govern- 
ment's policy  of  stopping  the  movement  of  labor 
away  from  the  farm. 

The  young  men  and  young  women  of  the  coun- 
try were  going  to  the  cities  or  to  America  in  such 
large  number  as  to  cause  a  serious  national  menace. 
The  land  owner  saw  ruin  ahead,  but  there  was  ample 
reason  why  the  farm  worker  did  not  like  his  life 
or  its  future  prospects.  His  wages  varied  from 
$i.oo  to  $2.25  a  week  with  board  and  lodging  pro- 
vided. He  was  paid  from  60  cents  to  75  cents  a 
working  day  where  he  boarded  himself.  The  un- 
married laborer  had  a  little  house  with  a  garden 
large  enough  to  grow  vegetables.  For  this  he  paid 
a  rent  of  from  $15.00  to  $20.00  a  year.  His 
meager  wage  was  in  sorry  contrast  to  the  earnings  of 
artisans  in  the  cities  or  of  countrymen  who  had  emi- 
grated to  new  countries.  His  pay  afforded  no  hope 
of  his  ever  having  a  home  of  his  own  and,  as  a  re- 
sult, he  sought  distant  and  greener  fields. 

To  make  the  home  outlook  more  hopeful,  the 
State  passed  a  law  to  help  laborers  buy  farms.  At 
first  the  laborer  was  afraid  that  it  was  a  scheme 
to  tie  him  to  his  employer.  But  he  soon  began  to 
understand  its  advantages  and  the  scope  of  the  act 
was  then  broadened  so  as  to  include  artisans, 
machinists,  and  factory  workers  in  the  nearby  towns. 
When  it  was  seen  that  large  returns  could  be  had 
from  a  few  acres,  efforts  were  made  to  increase  the 
area  enough  to  enable  a  man  to  make  a  living  by 
working  on  his  own  land.  This  caused  a  complete 
change  in  the  character  of  settlement;  the  movement 


STATE  AID  47 

ceased  to  be  one  to  provide  homes  for  wage  earners 
and  became  one  to  enable  poor  families  to  support 
themselves  on  their  own  land. 

The  first  law  was  passed  as  an  experiment.  It 
was  to  be  in  effect  only  for  five  years.  At  the 
end  of  that  period,  the  results  were  so  satisfactory 
that  the  law  was  continued  for  another  five  years 
and  its  scope  broadened  by  an  amendment  which 
made  farms  and  loans  larger.  In  1909,  the  law  was 
again  amended  so  as  to  permit  the  purchase  of 
larger  farms  and  its  operation  extended  for  a  third 
period  of  five  years.  In  19 14  it  was  again  extended 
for  a  fourth  five-year  period.  Under  the  first  law 
(1899),  20  acres  were  the  maximum  area  which  a 
settler  could  buy  and  some  of  the  farms  were  as  small 
as  a  quarter  of  an  acre.  Under  the  next  law  ( 1904) 
the  maximum  was  increased  to  30  acres.  Under  the 
third  (1909)  no  maximum  limit  was  placed  on  the 
acres,  but  a  limit  of  $1,800  was  placed  on  the  amount 
of  money  which  the  State  would  advance.  In  19 14 
a  minimum  limit  was  put  on  the  acreage.  The  State 
would  no  longer  finance  a  farm  of  less  than  one 
hectare  ( 2.47  acres) .  The  maximum  amount  of  the 
loan  was  raised  to  16,000  crowns  ($4,432).  Thus 
the  law  has  shown  a  constant  tendency  to  help  finance 
larger  areas.  Also  the  yearly  sums  provided  have 
grown  as  the  nation  has  seen  the  benefits  of  the 
policy.  In  the  first  five  year  period  2,000,000 
crowns  a  year  were  appropriated.  In  the  second 
period  the  yearly  appropriation  was  raised  to 
3,000,000  crowns;  the  third  law  raised  it  to  4,000,- 
000  crowns  a  year,  and  the  fourth  to  5,000,000 
crowns.     To-day  the  yearly  outlay  is  two  and  one- 


48        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

half  times  what  it  was  when  the  experiment  began. 

At  first  no  attention  was  paid  to  what  the  appli- 
cant knew  about  farming.  Men  who  got  farms 
were  expected  to  work  mainly  for  others;  therefore 
payments  to  the  Government  would  depend  not  on 
the  cultivator's  skill,  but  on  the  savings  from  his 
wages.  But,  as  farms  increased  in  size,  the  income 
of  the  settler  and  his  ability  to  pay  the  government 
came  more  and  more  to  depend  on  the  way  his  own 
farm  was  cultivated.  The  personal  fitness  of  the 
farmer  became,  therefore,  the  chief  factor  in  the 
scheme's  success.  Now  every  approved  applicant 
has  to  satisfy  the  authorities  that  he  is  a  good  per- 
sonal risk.  All  who  secure  farms  must  be  at  least 
25  years  of  age.  They  must  have  had  agricultural 
experience.  They  must  present  certificates  of 
character  and  of  good  conduct. 

Under  the  first  act  the  settler  was  required  to 
have  one-fifth  of  the  money  required  to  pay  for  and 
improve  the  farm.  Later,  when  the  size  of  the 
farms  increased  and  the  cost  of  their  equipment 
became  greater,  the  settler  was  required  to  have 
only  one-tenth  of  the  cost  of  the  completed  farm.  Up 
to  19 14  the  settler  paid  each  year  3^  per  cent,  of 
the  cost  of  the  farm.  This  was  3  per  cent,  interest 
and  Yz  per  cent,  on  the  principal.  It  would  pay  off 
the  debt  in  65  years.  In  19 14  the  rate  of  interest 
was  increased  to  4  per  cent.  The  Government  now 
provides  40  per  cent,  of  the  money  out  of  current 
revenues  and  60  per  cent,  is  furnished  by  the  State 
Land  Bank.  This  bank  can  and  does  at  times  assign 
some  of  the  loans  to  the  Danish  Mortgage  Bank. 
It  can  sell  them  at  par  because  the  interest  rate  is 


STATE  AID  49 

below  the  ruling  one;  so  the  mortgage  bank  takes 
these  loans  at  about  80  per  cent,  of  their  face  value. 
This  loss  falls  on  the  government  and  the  state  be- 
lieves that  the  national  benefits  warrant  it. 

When  the  main  idea  was  to  lessen  the  unrest  of 
farm  laborers,  large  land  owners  supported  the 
government's  policy.  Later  on,  when  the  farms  be- 
came larger  and  took  all  the  time  of  their  owners, 
the  act  hurt  instead  of  helped  the  labor  supply  of 
the  larger  farmers.  Now  they  oppose  the  act.  It 
is  natural  for  the  owner  of  500  acres  to  look  on  10 
and  20  acre  farms  with  contempt.  The  little  fields 
and  small  operations  seem  trivial.  The  small  farms 
have  interfered  with  hunting  and  other  privileges. 
There  is  no  pheasant  shooting  on  10  acre  farms. 
Fox  hunting  ceased  to  be  a  pastime  when  closer 
settlement  became  the  rule. 

At  present,  the  demand  for  farms  is  far  beyond 
the  supply  and  as  the  Government  cannot  provide 
the  money  needed  to  finance  settlement,  it  is  being 
more  and  more  financed  by  the  private  credit  banks. 

The  buyers  of  small  farms  soon  learned  that  these 
had  to  be  farmed  better  and  in  a  different  way  from 
that  followed  when  they  worked  for  wages  on  the 
large  estates.  A  kind  of  farm  management  and 
grouping  suited  to  the  few  acres  had  to  be  worked 
out,  and  to  help  do  that  160,000  people,  each  strug- 
gling to  pay  for  his  10  or  20  acres,  raised  money  to 
buy  the  land  and  erect  the  buildings  of  the  farm 
school  at  Odensee,  where  their  kind  of  agriculture 
could  be  studied  and  taught.  The  school  is  attended 
by  people  of  all  ages.  In  summer,  its  rooms  are 
filled    mainly    with    women,    in    winter    with    men. 


50        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Everything  about  the  buildings  and  grounds  Is  of 
the  plainest  character,  but  there  are  few  if  any  other 
places  where  32  acres  of  land  are  put  to  better  use. 
This  small  area  was  all  that  the  available  funds 
would  buy.  The  land  Is  divided  into  the  school 
grounds  and  two  farms  typical  of  the  Danish  closer 
settled  areas.  One  of  these  has  5  tondeland,  a  little 
over  6}i  acres,  a  common  area  for  the  man  that 
does  all  his  own  work.  The  other  Is  a  farm  of  18 
acres.  The  superintendent  thought  that  on  the 
small  farm,  a  peasant  ought  to  be  able  to  keep  his 
family  and  to  have  about  $400  a  year  clear.  On 
the  18  acre  farm,  he  ought  to  keep  his  family,  pay 
for  all  labor,  and  have  a  net  income  of  about  $800 
a  year.  The  6}i  acre  farm  and  the  18  acre  farm 
at  the  school  were  each  run  as  the  peasants  were 
advised  to  run  their  farms.  Each  farm  had  its  barn 
and  Its  cow,  pigs,  and  chickens;  and  the  land  was 
planted  to  the  crops  which  the  peasants  were  ad- 
vised to  plant.  In  this  way  a  valuable  record  of 
actual  returns  from  year  to  year  has  been  secured. 
About  the  time  of  our  visit,  Denmark  was  visited 
by  a  commission  of  Scottish  farmers.  It  secured  re- 
ports of  incomes  from  many  of  the  small  farms 
created  by  the  State  and  thought  the  returns  were 
small;  but  we  did  not  think  them  small  when  com- 
pared to  what  a  peasant  would  earn  if  he  worked  for 
wages.  On  one  farm  of  8  ^4  acres  the  net  return  was 
$300;  that  Is,  this  was  left  after  paying  all  expenses 
including  Interest  on  the  Investment.  It  gave  the 
owner  much  of  his  food  and  about  one  dollar  a  day 
as  wages.  If  he  had  worked  for  another  farmer, 
he  would  have  been  paid  from  fifty  cents  to  seventy- 


STATE  AID  51 

five  cents  a  day  for  the  time  he  worked;  idle  days  he 
would  have  earned  nothing.  Out  of  his  wages  he 
would  have  had  to  pay  for  his  food  and  rent  for  his 
house.  In  any  event  the  desire  to  escape  from 
the  status  of  farm  laborer  is  strong.  The  Govern- 
ment cannot  provide  half  the  money  needed  to  finance 
those  who  have  saved  enough  to  pay  the  required 
one-tenth  of  the  purchase  price. 

From  the  school  we  visited  a  holding  farmed  in 
the  typical  Danish  fashion.  The  four  acres  were 
divided  into  six  plats.  Two  were  growing  grain 
crops,  the  other  four  had  crops  of  oats,  barley,  and 
clover.  On  this  farm  there  were  two  cows,  one 
horse,  two  hundred  and  twenty  hens,  four  ducks, 
and  some  pigs.  During  the  past  year  there  had 
been  sold  from  this  farm: 

Kroner 

7  pigs  (to  a  bacon  factory)   315 

2  fat  calves 100 

Eggs  (to  a  cooperative  society)   ...      741 

Fowls    1 10 

Ducks   78 

Milk  (to  the  cooperative  dairies)   .      510 

Total    1854  or  $515 

From  these  four  acres  the  owner  had  had  a  part 
of  his  own  hving  and  200  chickens  still  on  the  farm 
and  not  credited  were  worth  about  $30.  Five 
hundred  and  fifteen  dollars  does  not  seem  a  large 
income,  but,  if  the  owner  of  this  place  had  worked 
for  wages  at  the  rate  paid  farm  laborers,  his  income 
would  have  been  less  than  half  of  this  and  he  would 
have  lacked  the  satisfaction  of  being  his  own  boss. 


52        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  6^  and  i8  acre  typical  farms  at  the  Odensee 
School  carried  the  following  live-stock : 

6%  Acres  i8  Acres 

Cows 6  14 

Heifers   4 

Calves I 

Bulls I 

Horses    i  2 

Pigs     18  43 

Poultry     100  200 

Bees    5  hives  20  hives 

The  commission  felt,  that,  if  men  in  Denmark 
could  make  a  living  on  from  10  to  20  acres  in  the 
rigorous  climate  and  on  the  naturally  poor  soil  of 
that  country,  where  stock  has  to  be  housed  in  winter, 
where  the  growing  season  is  short,  where  taxes  are 
high,  and  where  land  costs  three  or  four  times  as 
much  as  it  did  in  Victoria,  closer  settlement  ought 
to  be  a  complete  success  in  the  latter  State  where  two 
crops  a  year  could  be  grown,  where  housing  of  stock 
was  not  required,  and  where  a  much  wider  range  of 
valuable  crops  could  be  grown. 

There  was  no  question  as  to  the  success  of  the 
Danish  Closer  Settlement  Act,  though  there  is  a 
belief  that  with  the  increased  size  and  cost  of  farms, 
there  should  be  an  increase  in  the  payment  made  by 
the  settlers.  A  first  payment  of  one-tenth  was  ample 
when  farms  cost  little  and  when  the  larger  part  of 
the  purchase  money  was  to  come  from  wages.  But 
the  larger  investment  which  the  State  is  now  making 
for  the  settler,  leads  those  who  have  given  most 
attention  to   a   settler's   efforts   to  beheve   that  he 


STATE  AID  53 

should  not  try  to  pay  for  a  farm  of  over  twenty 
acres  unless  he  has  on  hand  one-fifth  of  the  purchase 
price. 

The  farmers  of  Denmark  have  taught  the  farmers 
of  the  rest  of  the  world  how  to  cooperate  in  buying 
and  selling  and  to  realize  the  benefits  that  can  come 
from  this.  If  it  had  not  been  for  their  cooperative 
creameries,  cooperative  baking  factories,  and  cooper- 
ative egg  marketing  associations,  which  enabled  the 
man  with  5  or  lo  acres  of  land  to  get  a  fair  price 
for  his  small  supplies,  the  movement  to  make  poor 
people  land  owners  in  Denmark  would  have  failed. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  Denmark  had  remained  the 
home  of  dissatisfied  tenants  and  poorly  paid  farm 
workers,  its  farm  schools,  its  cooperative  associa- 
tions, its  hopeful  confident  spirit  would  not  exist. 
These  were  all  born  out  of  hunger  for  land  and  out 
of  the  hope  and  ambition  which  land  ownership 
created. 

The  Danes  look  upon  the  land  as  a  principal  means 
of  livelihood  which  should  be  consecrated  to  the 
upbringing  and  home  life  of  a  healthy,  contented, 
and  numberless  rural  population.  They  hold  these 
results  to  be  of  sufficient  value  to  warrant  the  ex- 
penditure of  some  public  money.  The  Danish  view 
has  been  well  stated  by  Mr.  Niels  Pedersen  Nyskov, 
a  former  member  of  the  Danish  Parliament : 

"  The  law,  as  I  know  from  experience,  has  appar- 
ently resulted  in  a  very  considerable  improvement  in 
the  condition  of  the  land  workers.  Their  progress 
during  the  last  ten  years  has  been  very  great.  The 
soil,  which  when  taken  over  was  often  in  bad  condi- 
tion, has  been  well  cultivated,  the  value  of  the  stock 


54        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

(on  their  holdings)  has  been  more  than  doubled,  and 
the  buildings  have  been  improved  and  where  neces- 
sary enlarged.  Only  an  able  body  of  housemen 
(i.  e.  small-holders)  could  have  attained  to  this 
result,  but  a  great  deal  has  been  done  to  improve 
this  class.  The  State  contributes  to  their  education 
at  the  Housemen  and  other  schools,  and  the  House- 
men Unions,  which  are  supported  by  the  State,  also 
do  good  work  by  means  of  the  general  education  of 
their  members.  These  housemen  also  receive  grants 
to  enable  them  to  travel  for  the  purpose  of  study. 
The  land  owned  by  the  housemen  is  as  a  rule  the 
best  cultivated  and  gives  the  best  results.  The  cattle 
and  the  pigs  on  these  little  holdings  also  return  a 
proportionately  larger  profit.  The  good  results  of 
the  establishment  of  these  independent  housemen 
holdings  will  grow  clearer  year  by  year,  and  the 
sums  now  laid  out  in  the  form  of  old  age  pensions 
and  other  contributions  to  the  poor  will  correspond- 
ingly decrease.  Also  the  housemen  will  become 
more  prosperous,  able  to  buy  more  goods  and  to  pay 
more  in  direct  and  indirect  taxes.  This  system  of 
small  holdings  also  keeps  people  on  the  land  who 
otherwise  would  emigrate.  Not  the  least  advan- 
tage of  the  scheme  is  that  a  healthier  and  a  better 
generation  will  spring  from  the  small-holders  than 
sprang  from  the  landless  laborers." 

Australia  desired  settlers  from  Italy  and  from 
Denmark,  but  of  course  the  main  demand  was  on 
Great  Britain.  Four-fifths  of  the  people  of  Aus- 
tralia call  Great  Britain  home.  About  one-third 
came  from  Scotland.  Emigrants  from  the  mother 
country  are  therefore  at  home  in  Austraha  and  are 


STATE  AID  55 

made  more  welcome  than  settlers  from  other 
countries. 

At  the  time  of  the  commission's  visit,  England 
had  not  done  enough  in  state  aided  settlement  to 
offer  valuable  material  for  the  study  of  her  plan. 
The  interesting  point  became,  then,  the  attitude  of 
the  English  country  people  toward  the  opportunity  to 
acquire  small  farms  at  the  other  end  of  the  earth. 

This  attitude  was  made  quite  clear  by  the  eager- 
ness with  which  the  people  welcomed  the  English 
Acts  of  1908  and  19 10  aiming  to  provide  "  allot- 
ments "  (areas  of  one  acre  or  less)  and  "  small 
holdings"  (areas  of  over  one  acre)  as  homes  for 
laborers  and  small  farmers;  by  their  willingness  to 
go  at  the  rate  of  400,000  a  year  to  seek  land  in 
Canada;  and  by  their  expressed  desire  to  own  land 
anywhere  at  any  price.  Since  the  time  of  the  com- 
mission's visit,  it  is  interesting  to  note,  the  English 
acts  have  proved  their  value  and  have  become  the 
basis  of  the  various  Soldier  Settlement  Acts  passed 
since  the  war  began. 

Six  years  after  the  passing  of  the  act  providing 
allotments  or  small  tracts  of  one  acre  or  less  to  be 
sold  or  leased  to  laborers  for  homes  and  gardens, 
130,526  individuals  and  52  associations  had  been 
helped  to  have  homes  of  their  own.  The  33,523 
acres  of  land  bought  cost  on  an  average  $440  an 
acre  and  were  leased  on  an  average  for  $10.50  an 
acre.  The  year  the  war  began  there  were  8,391 
approved  applicants  and  two  associations  on  the  wait- 
ing list. 

Up  to  December  19 14  the  country  councils,  which 
direct  government  aided  settlement  in  England,  had 


56        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

bought  195,499  acres  for  small  holdings;  of  these 
178,911  acres  had  been  sold  or  leased  to  12,582 
Individual  small  holders;  and  nearly  2,000  other 
holdings  had  been  leased  to  cooperative  societies 
or  individuals.  The  land  cost  roughly  an  average  of 
$160  an  acre.  The  average  size  of  the  holdings 
was  13  acres  in  England  and  30  acres  in  Wales. 

The  effect  of  the  Small  Holder's  Act  in  increasing 
production  has  been  marked.  While  the  land  ac- 
quired is  only  one  per  cent,  of  the  land  in  England 
and  Wales,  it  contains  15  per  cent,  of  the  cultivated 
land  in  England  and  25  per  cent  of  that  of  Wales. 
The  people  on  these  holdings  are  meeting  their 
payments  to  the  Government.  In  19 14  only  86 
tenants  in  England  and  2  in  Wales,  or  less  than  i 
per  cent.,  were  unsatisfactory.  The  total  arrears 
on  13,500  holdings  was  less  than  $250. 

Nearly  all  the  land  in  England  acquired  for  small 
holdings  has  been  nationalized;  the  Government 
holds  the  title,  the  settler  gets  a  perpetual  right  to 
live  on  the  land  and  use  it.  In  England  this  kind  of 
a  title  is  preferred  to  a  freehold,  in  spite  of  the 
statement  so  often  heard  in  America  that  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  must  have  an  unconditional  freehold  title. 
On  the  home  ground  all  he  seems  to  want  is  a  secure 
right  to  live  on  the  land  and  to  improve  and  use  it 
as  his  own. 

The  English  experience  has  shown  the  advantages 
of  group  settlement.  The  latest  report  urges  that 
no  more  settlements  be  established  unless  at  least  100 
families  can  be  grouped.  The  reason  for  this  is  that 
if  the  small  holders  are  to  earn  livings  and  pay  back 
money  loaned  them,  they  must  farm  the  land  better 


STATE  AID  57 

than  it  was  farmed  before.  If  the  small  farmers 
simply  copy  the  methods  of  cultivation  followed  on 
large  farms,  their  returns  will  be  too  small.  After 
they  have  obtained  their  holdings,  even  when  they 
have  come  from  farms,  they  need  to  be  trained  in 
intensive  cultivation  and  in  marketing  their  products ; 
in  other  words,  they  need  in  England  to  be  educated 
as  much  as  they  do  in  Denmark.  But  the  necessary 
education  can  be  given  profitably  only  to  organized 
groups  of  at  least  lOO  families. 

The  Government  has  found  it  worth  while  to  pro- 
vide $100,000  a  year  to  pay  teachers  and  organizers 
of  small  holders.  In  addition  much  has  been  done 
by  the  Agricultural  Organization  Society  and  other 
societies  to  train  the  people  to  think  and  act  together 
in  matters  affecting  the  general  welfare;  and  by  so 
doing  they  are  getting  results  that  they  could  not  get 
if  each  individual  looked  out  for  himself. 

The  English  Government  has  never  been  able  to 
provide  enough  land  to  meet  the  demand.  In  19 14 
there  were  6,432  approved  applicants  for  whom 
there  was  no  land. 

At  the  time  of  the  commission's  visit  to  Ireland, 
the  Irish  Land  Purchase  Act,  passed  in  1903,  had 
been  in  operation  seven  years.  Already  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  land  had  passed  over  to  tenants  or  was 
held  by  them  on  rents  fixed  by  the  Government. 

For  many  years  before  this  act  was  passed,  the 
Irish  tenant  had  been  in  revolt  against  non-resident 
land  owners.  The  Government  had  attempted  to 
end  the  disorder  by  a  device  simlliar  to  that  adopted 
in  Italy;  that  Is,  the  Government  had  fixed  the  rent 
and  the  conditions  under  which  the  tenant  was  to 


58         HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

hold  the  land.  But  neither  the  tenant  nor  the  land- 
lord was  satisfied  with  this.  The  tenant  wanted  the 
title  to  the  land  while  the  landlord  who  held  his 
property  on  terms  fixed  by  some  one  else  wanted  to 
sell  it.  To  solve  the  problem,  the  Government 
placed  $500,000,000  in  the  hands  of  an  estate  com- 
mission to  enable  it  to  finance  the  transfer  of  all 
lands  to  its  cultivators  and  gave  in  addition  $60,- 
000,000  to  enable  tenants  without  money  to  pay  the 
one-fourth  of  the  purchase  price,  which  had  to  be 
paid  in  cash. 

In  Denmark  and  in  England  the  greater  part  of 
the  land  bought  by  the  State  was  obtained  by  private 
bargaining  but  In  Ireland  much  of  it  had  to  be  taken 
by  compulsion.  The  purchase  price  was  based  on 
the  rent.  A  low  rental  had  been  fixed  by  the  Gov- 
ernment in  the  hope  that  it  would  end  the  tenant's 
unrest.  Now  there  was  a  further  reduction  of  from 
10  to  30  per  cent.  The  new  low  rent  was  taken  as 
the  net  Income  and  multiplied  by  24  or  26  to  give 
the  price  for  which  an  owner  was  compelled  to  sell 
his  land.  The  average  price  paid  for  about  nine 
million  acres  of  land  In  Ireland  under  this  compulsory 
sale  plan  was  $50  an  acre,  whereas  in  England  under 
free  purchase,  the  average  price  was  more  than  three 
times  this  sum.  The  Irish  plan  was  generous  to  the 
tenant  but  hardly  fair  to  the  land  owner. 

The  settler  who  buys  Irish  state  land  pays  3)^ 
per  cent,  a  year  on  the  purchase  price,  3  per  cent, 
interest  and  ^  per  cent,  on  the  principal.  This 
pays  off  the  debt  of  principal  and  interest  In  683/2 
years.  Up  to  19 13,  $622,404,180  had  been  spent. 
Land  Is  still  being  bought  and  settled,  but  before  the 


STATE  AID  59 

purpose  of  the  act,  to  make  Ireland  a  country  of 
land  owners  can  be  accomplished,  over  one  billion 
dollars  will  have  to  be  invested  by  the  Government. 

As  a  political  and  social  measure,  this  act  has  been 
a  remarkable  success.  In  helping  the  Irish  peasant 
to  realize  the  long  felt  aspiration  to  own  his  farm, 
it  has  changed  him  from  a  reckless  turbulent  fellow 
to  a  thrifty  peaceful  citizen,  from  a  bad  farmer  to 
a  good  farmer.  The  Irish  farmers  have  become 
good  business  men,  second  only  to  the  Danes  in 
the  prices  obtained  in  the  English  markets.  The 
change,  however,  was  not  due  to  the  act  alone.  One 
of  the  main  agents  in  fostering  and  directing  it  was 
the  Irish  Agricultural  Organization  Society  founded 
by  Sir  Horace  Plunkett  before  the  Land  Act  was 
passed. 

This  society  did  enormous  good  as  soon  as  there 
was  an  adequate  foundation  for  cooperation  in  the 
peasant  farm  owners'  problems  of  meeting  their 
payments.  Land  ownership  and  rural  improvement 
then  went  together  with  a  result  stated  as  follows  in 
the  report  of  the  American  Industrial  Relations 
Commission: — 

"  For  many  generations  Ireland  was  one  of  the 
most  distressed  countries  in  the  world.  All  of  its 
evils  were  due  primarily  to  absentee  landlords  and 
farm  tenants.  But  within  the  last  decade  a  wonder- 
ful change  has  taken  place  in  the  social  and  economic 
condition  of  the  Irish  peasant,  brought  about  by  the 
enactment  by  Parliament  of  what  has  since  become 
known  as  the  Irish  land  bill.  This  Act  created  a 
royal  commission,  with  power  to  appraise  the  large 
Irish  land  estates  owned  by  absentee  landlords,  at 


6o        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

their  real  and  not  at  their  speculative  value;  to  buy 
them  in  the  name  of  the  government  at  the  appraised 
value,  plus  12  per  cent,  bonus;  to  cut  them  up  into 
small  parcels;  to  sell  them  to  worthy  farm  tenants, 
giving  some  seventy  years  time  in  which  to  make 
small  annual  payments  on  the  amortization  plan,  the 
deferred  payments  bearing  but  3  per  cent,  interest. 
In  addition  to  this,  the  government  made  personal 
loans  to  peasants  sufficient  to  cover  the  cost  of  stock 
and  farm  implements,  also  payable  in  small  annual 
installments  bearing  a  minimum  rate  of  interest. 
The  government  further  furnished  the  various  farm 
districts  with  farm  advisers,  trained  graduates  from 
agricultural  colleges,  who  act  as  friend,  adviser,  and 
scientific  farm  instructor  to  the  peasants.  Within 
a  decade  the  wretched  and  more  or  less  lawbreaking 
farm  tenant  has  been  converted  into  an  industrious, 
progressive  and  law-abiding  landed  proprietor;  in 
fact,  he  has  become  so  law-abiding  that  many  jails 
in  the  farming  districts,  formerly  filled  with  agrarian 
criminals,  have  been  converted  into  public  schools." 

The  reception  of  the  commission  in  Ireland  was 
not  unlike  that  in  Italy.  Everywhere  there  was 
cordial  greeting  and  a  desire  that  we  should  know 
and  appreciate  the  progress  that  Ireland  was  mak- 
ing, but  no  one  was  willing  to  help  get  recruits  to 
settle  land  in  Victoria. 

Sir  Horace  Plunkett  said,  "  This  country  has 
uffered  far  too  long  from  the  movement  of  its  people 
to  other  countries.  If  we  are  faithful  to  our  trust 
as  Irishmen  our  efforts  should  all  be  directed  to  keep- 
ing people  here.  The  new  land  laws  under  which 
small  tenant  farmers  may  buy  their  holdings  for 


STATE  AID  6 1 

smaller  yearly  payments  than  they  formerly  paid  as 
rent  is  settling  the  country.  The  Victorian  scheme 
is  full  of  merit  but  we  cannot  spare  our  people  and 
the  stronger  the  inducement  offered  them  to  go  away 
the  less  we  like  it." 

The  editor  of  Freemen's  Journal  explained  that 
since  there  was  a  chance  to  buy  land  at  home,  there 
was  no  reason  for  any  farmer's  leaving  and  that 
neither  for  money  nor  for  any  other  inducement 
would  he  print  anything  likely  to  cause  a  single  Irish- 
man to  leave  Ireland. 

In  Scotland,  the  commission  was  made  aware,  as 
nowhere  else,  of  the  tenant  farmer's  or  farm 
worker's  hunger  for  a  piece  of  land  he  can  call  his 
own.  Scotland  lacked  laws  which  would  help  sat- 
isfy this  hunger.  Because  of  this  lack,  according  to 
well-informed  men,  rural  Scotland  was  being  bled 
white  by  the  movement  of  its  people  to  Canada 
and  Australia.  Lack  of  farm  workers  was  causing 
many  tenants  to  give  up  their  farms;  both  workers 
and  tenants  were  leaving.  At  every  Scottish  city 
visited  by  the  commission,  it  was  interviewed  by 
farmers  and  farm  workers  some  of  whom  came  50 
miles.  They  wanted  to  learn  how  and  when  they 
could  secure  farms  in  Australia. 

The  year  following  that  of  the  commission's  visit, 
unrest  was  so  general  and  so  many  were  leaving  the 
country  districts  of  Scotland  for  Canada  and  Aus- 
tralia that  the  Scottish  Land  Act  was  passed. 

This  Act  does  not  provide  for  the  purchase  of 
land  but  creates  a  Scottish  Land  Court  which  has 
power  to  take  over  estates,  divide  them  into  small 
holdings,  and  fix  the  conditions  under  which  the  hold- 


62        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

ings  are  to  be  occupied.  The  tenure  of  these  small 
holdings  differs  from  that  of  the  small  farms  of  Ire- 
land or  the  small  holdings  created  by  the  county  or 
parish  council  of  England.  In  England  the  small 
holder  is  a  tenant  of  the  county  or  parish  council. 
In  Scotland,  he  is  a  tenant  of  the  owner  of  the  soil, 
but  the  ordinary  relations  of  the  landlord  and  tenant 
can,  by  the  land  court,  be  removed  from  the  sphere 
of  private  contract  and  the  right  of  the  tenant  to 
occupy  and  Improve  the  land  made  so  secure  as  to 
justify  him  in  erecting  better  buildings,  employing 
better  farming  methods,  and  making  the  best  possi- 
ble use  of  the  land. 

The  main  business  of  the  land  court  ever  since  it 
was  established  has  been  the  reduction  of  rents.  In 
the  past  the  land  owners  had  left  the  Scotch  tenants 
to  make  Improvements;  and  when  these  gave  the 
land  increased  value,  the  rent  was  raised.  The  land 
court  stopped  this. 

Under  the  Act  of  191 1,  if  a  landlord  fails  to 
provide  the  tenant  with  buildings  needed  for  the 
proper  use  of  the  holding  or  fails  to  keep  the  build- 
ings and  improvements  in  repair,  the  tenant  can  go 
to  the  land  court  and  be  given  the  status  of  the 
owner;  that  Is,  he  can  be  given  orders  to  carry  the 
improvements  himself  and  the  owner  Is  only  al- 
lowed to  charge  rent  based  on  the  unimproved  value 
of  the  land.  In  some  cases,  the  landlords  have  made 
Improvements  rather  than  permit  the  tenants  to  do 
so,  but  In  other  cases  they  have  preferred  to  let  the 
tenants  do  the  work  even  with  a  reduction  of  rent. 

The  board  that  administered  the  Land  Act  in 
Scotland  has  a  fund  of  $100,000,000  a  year  with 


STATE  AID  63 

which  to  lend  money  for  improvements  or  to  buy 
land.  When  it  began  its  work  in  19 12,  there  were 
1700  applications  for  farms  and  at  the  end  of  the 
year  over  5,000;  about  one  half  wanted  farms  over 
25  acres.  Five  hundred  wanted  farms  between  10 
and  25  acres  and  as  many  wanted  farms  under  10 
acres.  A  still  larger  number  only  wanted  land 
enough  for  a  house  and  garden.  Among  the  first 
1700  applications,  400  had  a  capital  under  $4,000; 
500  between  $500  and  $1,000  and  750  between  $250 
and  $500. 

The  members  of  the  Scotch  Land  Board  in  their 
latest  report  say  the  Land  Act  is  a  great  aid  to  the 
nation.  In  giving  tenure  to  small  holdings,  it 
brings  into  cultivation  land  which  otherwise  would 
be  used  only  for  pasture.  It  urges,  however,  that 
unless  the  law  be  broadened,  young  men  will  con- 
tinue to  emigrate  to  colonies  rather  than  endure  con- 
ditions at  home.  The  commission  found,  then,  in 
the  political,  economical,  and  social  results  of  state 
aided  settlement  in  Europe,  every  guarantee  for  the 
success  of  state  aided  settlement  in  Victoria. 


CHAPTER  V 

METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF  STATE  AIDED 
SETTLEMENT  IN  VICTORIA 

What  was  seen  In  Europe  showed  the  economic  ad- 
vantages of  group  settlement.  Hence  in  Victoria  it 
was  decided  that  each  area  of  land  purchased  should 
be  large  enough  for  homes  for  not  less  than  one 
hundred  families  and  that  larger  areas  would  be 
better  than  smaller  ones.  Twenty  thousand  acres 
seemed  to  be  the  most  desirable  size  for  a  settlement. 
This  would  give  500  farms  averaging  40  acres  each. 

$1,250,000  a  year  had  been  made  available  for 
purchasing  land  and  helping  settlers  to  improve  their 
farms  and  since  this  appropriation  had  been  made 
in  advance  of  actual  settlement,  a  considerable  fund 
had  accumulated  before  it  began  to  be  drawn  upon. 
The  Victorian  Government  in  carrying  out  its  closer 
settlement  plans,  left  the  selection  of  the  areas  to  be 
developed  to  the  State  Rivers  Commission,  for  it 
was  necessary  to  follow  a  plan  which  would  provide 
a  market  for  the  water  of  the  canals  already  built. 
W^hile  the  State  Rivers  Commission  was  the  settle- 
ment agency,  the  land  was  bought  by  a  board  which 
had  charge  of  the  crown  lands  and  of  lands  hitherto 
bought  by  the  state  for  various  purposes. 

All  of  the  land  bought  during  the  first  six  years  — 
1909  to  19 15,  was  bought  by  private  bargaining. 
The  price  paid  was  usually  fixed  by  the  income  from 
the  land  received  by  the  owner  during  from  three  to 

64 


METHODS  IN  VICTORIA  65 

five  years  prior  to  the  sale,  twenty  times  the  yearly 
net  income  being  regarded  as  a  fair  valuation. 
About  one  half  the  land  was  bought  at  the  usual 
seUing  value.  Although  a  law  provided  for  con- 
demnation, it  was  so  slow  and  costly  in  operation 
that  it  was  never  employed. 

To  get  together  the  land  for  the  different  settle- 
ments, holdings  of  all  areas  within  the  chosen  bound- 
aries from  160  acres  up  to  36,600  acres  were  pur- 
chased. The  table  below  gives  the  areas  bought 
and  thrown  together  to  form  the  Rochester  Settle- 
ment. The  Bamawm  Estate  had  been  subdivided 
some  years  before  into  28  farms.  These  28  farms 
were  bought  and  from  them  150  farms  were  made. 
From  the  other  tracts  purchased  for  the  settlement, 
130  farms  were  made.  There  were  30  families 
living  on  the  land  when  the  government  purchased 
it.  Two  hundred  and  fifty-five  of  the  farms  were 
taken  up  as  soon  as  the  land  was  thrown  open  and 
the  remaining  60  within  a  short  time.  After  this 
table  was  prepared  some  of  the  large  farms  were 
subdivided  so  that  there  are  now  390  farms  in  this 
area. 

The  land  being  purchased  by  the  state  for  settle- 
ment was  originally  crown  land.  It  was  first  dis- 
posed of  in  large  tracts  on  long  time  payments  and 
devoted  to  pasturage.  Under  these  conditions  all  of 
the  best  land  had  been  acquired.  But  in  time,  when 
it  was  seen  that  the  land  could  be  put  to  the  higher 
use  of  wheat  raising,  there  grew  a  demand  for  farms 
that  had  to  be  in  some  way  gratified.  The  state 
therefore  bought  back  the  land  from  the  people  hold- 
ing leases  or  purchase  agreements  and  opened  It 


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METHODS  IN  VICTORIA  6^ 

under  a  law  called  "  free  selection."  Under  this, 
any  selector  could  take  320  acres,  but  through  hiring 
people  to  file  on  the  land,  it  was  possible  to  obtain 
much  larger  areas.  Subsequently  those  who  sought 
to  create  large  estates  bought  out  the  selectors  and 
once  more  devoted  great  holdings  to  pasturage. 
Then  the  state  resumed  for  the  second  time  land 
which  it  had  originally  owned;  in  some  places  the 
state  bought  land  back  three  times. 

There  was  a  strong  feeling  therefore  that  some- 
thing should  be  done  to  prevent  aggregation  and  to 
insure  permanent  ownership  of  land  by  its  cultivators. 
To  bring  this  about,  the  commission  appointed  under 
the  Land  Settlement  Act  decided  that  a  settler's 
title  to  the  land  could  not  be  secured  until  after 
twelve  years  of  residence  and  that  after  that  time 
the  title  would  contain  a  clause  requiring  the  owner 
or  some  member  of  his  family  to  live  on  the  land 
eight  months  out  of  every  year  unless  excused  by  the 
commission  for  adequate  cause.  There  was  a  pro- 
vision against  aggregation  of  holdings  beyond  a 
$12,500  limit  in  value,  but  as  the  husband  could  hold 
and  the  wife  and  every  child  over  eighteen,  this  re- 
striction was  not  immediately  felt. 

In  New  South  Wales  where  similar  settlements 
were  established  a  little  later,  the  land  was  national- 
ized and  a  new  form  of  land  tenure  introduced.  The 
settler  who  took  land  did  not  pay  for  it  but  paid  a 
yearly  charge  which  could  be  taken  out  as  a  rent  or 
tax.  He  had  full  control  over  the  land  and  his 
children  could  inherit  it,  but  with  the  conditions  of 
ownership  and  inheritance,  the  cultivator  had  to  Hve 
on  the  land. 


68        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

This  title  had  therefore  more  of  the  elements  of 
a  fee  simple  than  of  a  lease.  It  saved  poor  settlers 
from  strugghng  to  pay  for  the  land  and  protected 
them  in  the  improvements  they  made.  For  men 
without  money  it  was  a  better  plan  for  putting  an  end 
to  non-resident  ownership  than  that  of  Victoria. 

The  Land  Settlement  Act  fixed  the  maximum  value 
of  an  unimproved  farm  at  $12,500.  It  provided  for 
allotments  for  farm  and  industrial  workers,  that  is, 
for  men  whose  incomes  came  mainly  from  wages. 
In  time,  the  workers'  homes  were  nearly  all  made 
two  acres  in  area.  This  gave  land  enough  to  keep  a 
cow  and  chickens  and  to  grow  a  home  garden.  The 
farms  varied  from  10  to  200  acres.  The  latter  size 
was  fixed  when  some  of  the  land  was  not  suited  to 
irrigation.  The  controlling  condition  in  laying  out 
the  farms  was  the  water  supply.  Efforts  were  made 
to  fit  farms  to  canals  like  buildings  along  city  streets. 

The  subdivision  of  the  land  into  farms  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  appraisement.  The  appraisement  was 
determined  by  the  price  paid  by  the  state  for  the 
land  plus  the  expenses  of  subdivision  and  superin- 
tendence plus  a  sum  to  cover  loss  which  might  occur 
through  failure  of  settlers,  or  through  delay  in  settle- 
ment. The  amount  added  to  the  purchase  price  was 
about  fifteen  per  cent. 

The  land  bought  by  the  state  in  Australia  varied  in 
price  from  $15  to  $130  an  acre.  The  selling  price 
ran  from  less  than  $20  in  some  instances  to  $130. 

The  conditions  of  purchase  and  of  loans  were  as 
follows : 

Payments  for  land  were  to  extend  over  a  period  of  31!^ 
years  or  a  less  time,  if  settlers  desired. 


METHODS  IN  VICTORIA  69 

The  interest  on  unpaid  payments  on  land  was  to  be  4%  per 
cent. 

Payments  were  amortized,  the  annual  payment  of  ii/^  per 
cent  on  the  principal  making  the  total  yearly  payment 
6  per  cent;  the  payments  were,  however,  made  semi- 
annually, there  being  63  of  these. 

Parties  could  apply  for  more  than  one  allotment  and  were 
advised  to  make  a  first,  second,  and  third  choice. 

Applicants  had  to  be  at  least  18  years  of  age. 

A  cash  payment  of  3  per  cent  had  to  be  made  on  a  farm  or 
farm  worker's  allotment  at  the  time  of  purchase  and  a 
10  per  cent  payment  had  to  be  made  on  the  cost  of  a 
house  built  by  the  State. 

The  State  could  advance  up  to  $1250  for  the  building  of  a 
home  on  a  farm,  or  up  to  $500  to  help  pay  for  a  home 
on  a  farm  worker's  allotment. 

Those  having  farm  workers'  allotments  were  required  to 
complete  a  house  worth  at  least  $150  within  the  first 
year  and  to  have  the  allotment  inclosed  by  a  fence 
within  two  years. 

Actual  residence  on  each  allotment  was  required  within  six 
months,  but  the  residence  on  the  farm  of  the  wife,  or 
children  over  18  years  of  age,  was  considered  the  same 
as  personal  residence. 

The  purchaser  of  a  farm  allotment  was  not  permitted  to 
transfer,  assign,  mortgage,  or  sublet  his  allotment  within 
the  first  six  years  after  purchase,  but  a  farm  worker 
could  do  so  at  any  time  with  the  consent  of  the  com- 
mission. 

Buyers  of  farms  or  farm  workers'  allotments  were  permitted 
to  pay  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  purchase  money  at 
any  regular  payment  period. 

A  deed  to  the  land,  regardless  of  the  time  of  purchase,  could 
not  be  issued  until  12  years  after  the  date  of  purchase. 
Up  to  that  time  only  a  purchase  contract  was  given. 

In  working  out  plans  for  helping  settlers  get  a 


70        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

start,  the  commission  tried  to  forecast  what  the 
settlers  must  do  and  what  expenses  they  must  incur. 
Whether  the  farm  had  ten  acres  or  fifty  acres  certain 
equipment  would  have  to  be  provided  and  certain 
improvements  made.     These  would  include : 

A  house. 

Buildings  to  shelter  livestock  and  implements. 

One  or  more  cows  and  one  or  more  horses. 

Furniture  for  the  house  and  tools  and  machinery  for  the 

farm. 
The  leveling  of  the  land  to  bring  about  even  flow  of  water 

in  irrigation. 
Small  lateral  ditches  to  distribute  water. 
Boundary  and  subdivision  fences. 
Money  for  living  expenses  until  there  was  an  income. 

Estimates  of  the  least  cost  of  these  for  an  unim- 
proved farm  of  from  20  to  40  acres  averaged  $3,750, 
a  larger  sum  than  had  been  realized  before  this  mat- 
ter was  looked  into  carefully.  Very  few  applicants 
for  land  had  this  amount  of  money.  If  such  appli- 
cants were  to  be  accepted,  someone  must  provide 
either  money  or  credit.  As  the  government  owned 
the  land,  it  was  in  the  best  position  to  finance  its  im- 
provement. Money  loaned  settlers  for  improve- 
ments increased  the  value  of  the  security,  and  the 
enhanced  land  values  which  came  from  better  farm- 
ing made  the  enterprise  a  solvent  one.  If  a  settler 
got  into  arrears  and  had  to  be  evicted,  the  price  of 
the  farm  to  the  next  buyer  was  increased  and  the 
loss  recouped. 

Direct  returns  to  the  government  would  make 
state  aid  a  sound  plan  if  most  of  the  settlers  paid 
the   amounts   agreed   upon.     European    experience 


METHODS  IN  VICTORIA  71 

showed,  however,  that  few  settlers  starting  without 
capital  could  succeed  on  farms  of  ten  acres  or  more. 
Farm  workers  could  pay  for  their  allotments  be- 
cause It  was  easier  for  them  to  meet  payments  than 
to  pay  rent.  All  were  agreed  that  on  the  Irrigated 
farms  of  Victoria,  the  settler  who  bought  from  30  to 
40  acres  should  have  one-fifth  the  cost  of  the  Im- 
proved place  In  money  or  Its  equivalent;  that  the 
larger  the  farm,  the  larger  the  share  of  the  entire 
cost  the  settler  should  be  able  to  provide.  The  Vic- 
torian government  decided  that  the  settler  ought  to 
have  money  enough  to  pay  3  per  cent,  on  the  cost  of 
the  land  and  10  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  all  Improve- 
ments and  to  be  able  to  buy  his  own  livestock.  To 
do  that,  he  would  need  about  $1,500;  and  each  ap- 
plicant for  a  farm  of  20  acres  or  over  was  told  that 
he  should  have  this  sum.  For  areas  of  less  than  20 
acres,  any  one  who  could  pay  the  deposit  and  bring 
satisfactory  evidence  that  he  was  industrious  and  that 
he  knew  how  to  farm,  was  accepted. 

Few  who  applied  for  farms  had  money  enough  for 
the  first  payment  on  the  land  and  the  necessary  Im- 
provements. Their  Incomes,  however,  depended  on 
the  full  Improvement  of  their  farms.  Without  this. 
Intense  cultivation  could  not  begin.  Each  settler 
could  borrow  a  maximum  of  $2,500  from  the  gov- 
ernment and  nearly  every  one  of  them  needed  this 
maximum.  It  was  soon  seen  that  the  borrowed 
money  could  be  used  to  better  advantage,  if  the  gov- 
ernment directed  its  outlay;  for  along  with  money, 
four-fifths  of  the  settlers  needed  expert  advice  and 
direction.  In  other  words,  the  best  results  were 
had  where  service  was  combined  with  credit. 


72         HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  Rochester  Settlement  will  serve  as  an  illus- 
tration. There  were  285  farms  in  this  settlement  of 
which  255  were  taken  as  soon  as  the  farms  could  be 
applied  for.  The  settlers  were  on  the  ground  wait- 
ing for  the  opening  day.  These  255  settlers  came 
from  Europe,  New  Zealand,  Africa,  and  North  and 
South  America.  The  farming  methods,  the  seasons, 
and  the  crops  of  their  home  lands  were  all  unlike 
those  of  this  new  land.  If  they  had  been  left  to  build 
their  houses,  there  would  have  been  255  heads  of 
families  looking  for  lumber,  for  windows,  for  hard- 
ware, cement,  and  brick.  Each  would  have  been 
seeking  carpenters,  masons,  and  plumbers.  They 
had  no  knowledge  of  the  merchants  they  would  trade 
with  or  of  the  artisans  they  would  seek  to  employ. 
They  were  ignorant  of  local  prices  and  materials  and 
they  were  in  a  situation  which  compelled  them  to 
trade  quickly.  They  would,  therefore,  almost  surely 
have  made  bad  bargains.  Their  houses  would  too 
often  be  unsuited  to  the  climate  and  badly  built. 
Some  would  be  shacks,  eyesores  to  the  settlement. 
Meantime  while  the  head  of  the  house  was  wast- 
ing his  money,  his  family  would  be  boarding  in 
a  nearby  town  at  heavy  expense,  or  living  on  the 
land  under  conditions  that  often  would  make  the 
wife  and  children  ill,  down  hearted,  or  home- 
sick. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  government  took  charge 
of  house  building,  it  could  buy  material  at  wholesale 
for  cash  and  at  low  prices.  It  could  build  many 
houses  at  once  and  thus  permit  economy  in  work  and 
supervision.  Settlers  could  be  saved  time,  money, 
and  hardships  in  a  way  which  would  increase  the 


METHODS  IN  VICTORIA  73 

value  of  the  government's  security  for  the  money 
advanced. 

The  government  arranged,  therefore,  to  build 
houses  for  settlers  instead  of  lending  them  money 
for  this  purpose.  The  first  thought  was  to  build 
the  houses  before  the  farms  were  offered  to  settlers. 
This  would  enable  a  settler  to  go  into  a  new  home 
on  the  new  farm.  One  contract  was  let  for  seventy 
houses  and  there  were  several  others  for  smaller 
numbers. 

But  the  plan  of  building  houses  in  advance  of  set- 
tlement was  seen  to  be  a  mistake  and  abandoned  for 
reasons  given  below.  In  place  of  this  there  were 
prepared  designs  of  fourteen  houses  which  varied  in 
cost  from  $750  to  $3,500  and  a  booklet  which  gave 
elevations,  floor  plans,  and  estimates  of  cost.  Any 
of  these  the  state  would  build  with  no  charge  for 
plans  and  a  very  low  charge  for  supervision.  To 
supervise  the  building  work,  a  competent  architect 
was  employed  who  soon  had  a  considerable  staff  of 
draftsmen  and  supervisors  of  construction. 

The  houses  were  all  built  by  contract,  but  as  large 
numbers  of  these  were  open  to  competitive  bidding 
at  the  same  time,  a  number  of  contracting  firms  soon 
gave  special  attention  to  them.  The  leading  dealers 
in  building  material  in  Melbourne  had  the  material 
for  the  houses  most  preferred  ready  for  immediate 
shipment  and  the  whole  arrangement  for  prompt  con- 
struction was  soon  well  organized.  In  a  few  cases, 
there  were  delays  due  to  the  fact  that  much  of  the 
lumber  used  came  from  America.  But  as  a  rule, 
settlers  were  living  in  their  houses  in  about  six  weeks 
after  the  contracts  were  signed. 


74        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

If  a  settler  did  not  like  any  of  the  stock  plans,  new 
ones  could  be  prepared,  for  which  he  paid  the  actual 
cost;  or  if  he  chose,  he  could  arrange  to  build  his  own 
house.  Three-fourths  of  the  settlers  preferred  the 
houses  built  by  the  state.  In  order  to  protect  set- 
tlers' families  from  serious  discomfort  and  to  let 
them  go  on  their  own  farms  as  soon  as  they  arrived, 
the  state  bought  portable  houses  and  rented  them 
while  the  permanent  houses  were  being  built,  at 
sums  which  merely  paid  the  expenses  of  the  service. 

As  the  things  which  led  to  success  or  failure  be- 
came more  distinctly  realized,  the  state  found  it 
profitable  to  do  more  and  more  for  the  settler.  One 
of  the  most  important  things  which  the  state  found 
it  necessary  to  undertake  was  the  leveling  of  the 
land  and  the  building  of  some  lateral  ditches  on  the 
farm.  This  was  not  work  for  a  farmer.  It  was  a 
task  for  engineers  or  men  having  special  skill  and 
experience.  To  prepare  land  properly  for  Irriga- 
tion requires  implements  and  equipment  that  farmers 
cannot  afford  and  knowledge  that  settlers  ignorant 
of  irrigation  commonly  lack.  Even  with  proper 
tools,  it  requires  a  special  knack  and  experience  to 
prepare  the  surface  of  a  field  so  that  water  will  flow 
over  and  irrigate  it  evenly. 

The  cost  of  this  preparatory  work  and  the  need 
for  having  it  well  done  increases  with  the  value  of 
crops  grown  and  with  the  flatness  of  the  slopes. 
Much  of  the  irrigation  land  of  Victoria  had  a  fall  of 
only  one  or  two  feet  to  the  mile,  which  made  the 
proper  location  of  lateral  ditches  and  the  careful 
preparation  of  the  surface  a  matter  of  special  im- 
portance. 


METHODS  IN  VICTORIA  75 

Another  reason  why  the  state  undertook  this  work, 
in  Victoria  at  the  outset  was  that  the  state  was  in  a 
favorable  position  to  do  so.  As  it  was  continually- 
buying  new  land  and  throwing  open  new  areas,  It 
could  enter  Into  contracts  for  the  leveling  of  large 
areas  with  men  well  equipped  for  the  work  and 
therefore  able  to  do  It  at  a  low  figure.  At  the  end 
of  five  years,  land  was  being  prepared  for  Irrigation 
in  Victoria  at  less  than  two  thirds  of  the  cost  of  the 
same  kind  of  work  in  America;  and  the  difference 
was  due  not  to  the  difference  of  wages  but  to  the 
superior  organization  of  the  work  and  the  skill  of 
the  workmen  in  the  Australian  State. 

It  was  necessary,  too,  for  the  state  to  furnish 
expert  advice  and  practical  help  in  buying  the  horses 
and  cows  needed  on  settler's  farms.  Without  this, 
the  settlers  fared  badly.  Men  from  Europe  wanted 
dairy  herds,  but  cows  were  not  to  be  had  locally  in 
the  required  numbers.  If  they  were  bought  at  auc- 
tion sales,  they  were  too  often  culls  of  little  value. 
The  state  therefore  engaged  an  experienced  buyer, 
who  visited  remote  dairying  districts,  inspected 
cattle,  and  bought  them  for  the  settlers  in  carload 
lots.  This  saved  time  and  money  so  effectively  that 
in  some  cases  settlers  from  Europe  were  able  to  be 
living  in  their  own  houses  and  making  good  livings 
from  their  own  dairy  herds,  within  30  days  after 
their  arrival  in  Australia. 

In  both  Victoria  and  New  South  Wales,  aid  was 
given  settlers  in  making  their  farms  the  home  of  pure 
bred  stock.  Victoria  bought  dairy  bulls  of  fine 
breeding  and  furnished  them  to  associations  of  set- 
tlers on  a  yearly  rental.     It  has  already  been  ex- 


76         HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

plained  that  the  government  helped  the  settlers  buy 
horses  and  cattle,  but  in  New  South  Wales  the  same 
arrangement  was  made  with  regard  to  hogs.  Men 
who  wished  these  and  had  not  the  money  to  pay  for 
them,  paid  a  deposit  of  25  per  cent,  and  the  re- 
mainder when  the  hogs  were  sold. 

Finally  the  state  found  it  necessary  to  organize  the 
settlers  for  cooperative  buying  and  selling  and  to 
provide  a  competent  superintendent  for  each  district. 
It  soon  became  apparent  that  buyers  would  take  ad- 
vantage of  small  farmers  kept  at  home  by  the  un- 
ending work  of  cultivation  and  improvement  if  they 
were  not  helped  to  organize  to  sell  as  a  community. 

A  large  part  of  the  land  had  been  planted  to  al- 
falfa. When  hay  was  ready  to  sell,  dealers  began 
to  combine  and  depress  the  price.  A  farmer  with  a 
small  stack  of  a  few  tons  would  have  been  at  their 
mercy,  had  not  the  government  come  to  his  aid.  But 
the  government  organized  and  helped  finance  an 
alfalfa  pool,  found  a  good  market  in  India,  and 
broke  the  dealers'  combination. 

The  farmers  of  the  settlement  were  organized  to 
market  milk  to  advantage.  Later,  when  orchards 
came  into  bearing,  machinery  to  can  and  dry  the  sur- 
plus products  was  bought  and  installed  by  the  gov- 
ernment. Closer  settlement  in  Victoria  has  there- 
fore become  a  working  partnership  between  the  gov- 
ernment and  the  farmers,  which  is  likely  to  extend 
over  many  years. 

Every  district  had  as  superintendent  a  man  of 
tact,  sympathy,  and  good  business  judgment.  He 
had  to  know  the  conditions  of  his  district.  He  was 
the   settler's  friend  and  the  government's   danger 


METHODS  IN  VICTORIA  77 

signal.  He  showed  beginners  what  to  do,  cheered 
the  despondent,  and  told  the  Idle  and  shiftless  to 
mend  their  ways.  He  knew  who  worked  and  who 
loafed.  He  could  inform  those  in  authority  whether 
a  settler  deserved  assistance  or  not. 

The  superintendent  was  the  most  important  per- 
son in  the  settlement.  He  soon  became  absorbed  in 
his  task.  No  hours  were  too  long,  no  effort  too 
great  to  keep  his  settlement  moving  and  to  see  that 
no  one  failed  where  success  was  possible. 

Experience  with  settlers  disgruntled  by  political 
agitators  showed  that  the  commission  must  know  at 
all  times  just  what  progress  each  settler  was  making 
and  that  this  Information  must  be  on  record  in  a  form 
to  be  used.  To  this  end  a  form  was  prepared  on 
which  the  operations  of  a  farm  could  be  entered. 
It  showed  the  acreage  of  different  crops  on  the  farm 
and  the  acres  that  had  been  planted  by  the  state. 
On  it  were  put  down  all  the  buildings  and  those 
erected  since  the  last  report  had  been  submitted.  It 
showed  the  number  of  livestock  and  the  income  ob- 
tained during  the  last  report  period.  There  was  a 
space  for  the  settler  to  make  any  statement  he  de- 
sired. If  he  had  grievances  he  could  state  them; 
if  he  was  satisfied  he  could  say  so.  There  was  a 
space  for  the  superintendent  to  outline  the  advice 
he  had  given  the  settler.  A  report  of  this  kind 
for  each  farm  was  prepared  by  the  settler  and  the 
superintendent  every  six  months  and  filed  for  ref- 
erence. Usually  these  reports  were  prepared  on  the 
farm  and  represented,  therefore,  the  joint  knowl- 
edge of  the  settler  and  the  superintendent.  On 
the  bottom  of  each  form  was  a  space  for  a  con- 


78         HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

fidentlal  report  by  the  superintendent  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  farm  and  the  conduct  of  the  set- 
tler. This  was  of  great  service  in  dealing  with 
settlers  who  were  in  arrears.  If  the  report  stated 
that  there  had  been  illness  in  the  settler's  family 
or  that  there  had  been  a  crop  failure  for  which 
he  was  not  responsible  or  that  there  was  any  other 
worthy  reason  why  he  should  not  be  pressed  for 
money,  he  was  not  pressed;  but  if  the  report 
stated,  as  some  did  state,  that  the  settler  did  not 
milk  his  cows  until  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon, 
that  he  spent  most  of  his  time  in  town,  or  that  he 
belonged  to  the  carpet  slipper  brigade,  then  the  ap- 
plication for  advances  of  money  or  postponement 
of  payments  was  refused. 

At  first  there  was  some  objection  by  settlers  to 
preparing  these  reports  but  in  time  they  came  to  un- 
derstand that  this  review  of  the  situation  and  the 
thorough  understanding  of  each  individual's  condi- 
tion at  headquarters  helped  to  secure  fair  and  sym- 
pathetic treatment  of  every  deserving  settler;  and 
with  this  knowledge,  the  thrifty  and  industrious  all 
came  to  be  strong  supporters  of  the  records.  Pre- 
paring these  reports  gave  the  superintendent  the  in- 
timate personal  knowledge  of  each  settler's  affairs 
that  he  needed  and  as  it  was  a  part  of  a  system,  there 
was  no  reflection  on  individuals  as  would  have  been 
the  case  if  the  reports  had  been  required  only  of 
those  who  were  In  arrears. 

In  addition  to  the  direct  aid  to  the  farmer,  which 
we  have  just  discussed,  the  government  in  Victoria 
extended  the  state  owned  railroads  or  built  new  ones, 
sometimes  in  advance  of  settlement,  so  that  no  dis- 


METHODS  IN  VICTORIA  79 

trict  would  lack  transportation  facilities.  In  this 
way  the  government  was  building  up  the  revenues  of 
one  of  its  agencies  and  at  the  same  time  making  it 
easier  and  cheaper  for  settlers  to  get  started. 

Moreover,  since  the  purpose  was  to  build  up  a 
sound  and  attractive  rural  civilization,  the  commis- 
sion located  and  helped  to  build  towns.  In  Victoria, 
where  the  problem  was  the  making  over  of  an  old 
settlement,  there  was  not  the  opportunity  for  town 
building  such  as  there  was  in  the  development  of  a 
new  area,  as  in  New  South  Wales.  Hence  it  will 
be  profitable  to  look  for  a  moment  at  the  state  built 
towns  of  New  South  Wales,  designed  by  Mr. 
Harley  Griffin  of  Chicago. 

Leeton  and  Griffin,  two  of  the  towns  laid  out  by 
Mr.  Griffin,  show  how  rural  life  can  be  made  at- 
tractive. They  have  broad  streets  for  business  and 
curving  tree  shaded  streets  for  residences.  The 
factories  are  all  located  so  that  they  can  be  reached 
by  direct  railroad  sidings.  And  there  is  adequate 
provision  for  the  life  of  children  as  there  is  a  play- 
ground in  every  residence  block. 

The  plans  for  sewerage,  for  electricity,  for  light- 
ing, and  for  the  location  of  the  public  buildings  and 
the  parks  were  all  made  before  a  single  house  was 
erected.  When  everything  was  ready,  when  the 
streets  had  been  laid  out  and  the  blocks  cut  up  into 
lots,  an  assessed  value  was  put  on  business  and  resi- 
dence lots,  and  they  were  sold  at  auction  to  those  who 
would  pay  the  largest  yearly  rentals.  The  buyers 
got  a  perpetual  lease  tenure;  that  is,  instead  of  buy- 
ing a  freehold  title  which  would  give  them  the  right 
to   sell  whenever   and   to   whomever  they  pleased. 


8o        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

they  bought  the  perpetual  right  to  use  the  land  as 
long  as  the  conditions  of  their  deeds  were  com- 
plied with.  These  conditions  made  it  compulsory 
for  the  buyer  to  use  the  property  for  the  purpose 
designated  and  for  him  or  some  member  of  his 
family  to  live  on  the  property.  The  deeds  gave 
descendants  of  the  buyers  the  right  to  inherit  the 
leases. 

At  the  outset  in  New  South  Wales,  the  govern- 
ment began  to  make  provisions  for  marketing  the 
settler's  produce.  In  the  towns  established  in  the 
Murrumbidgee  irrigated  area  in  New  South  Wales, 
the  state  established  a  packing  plant,  a  butter  fac- 
tory, and,  a  little  later,  a  fruit  canning  factory.  In 
addition  a  nursery  was  started. 

It  was  believed  that  doing  this  would  increase  the 
value  of  the  state  land  to  be  thrown  open  for  settle- 
ment later  and  would  thus  help  to  insure  to  the  State 
the  return  of  the  money  expended. 

In  Victoria  the  government  built  and  maintained 
a  large  cold  storage  warehouse  in  Melbourne,  where 
all  perishable  products  could  be  sent  and  chilled  pre- 
paratory to  shipment  to  Europe.  The  government, 
when  requested  to  do  so,  took  charge  of  shipments 
for  individual  settlers,  loaned  money  to  cooperative 
associations  of  farmers  to  build  bacon  curing  fac- 
tories, and  later  on,  bought  and  estabhshed  factories 
for  canning  and  drying  fruit. 

In  all  this  aid  to  settlers,  the  idea  was  kept  before 
them  that  they  should,  in  as  short  a  time  as  possible, 
take  hold  of  and  manage  things  themselves,  that 
some  of  them  as  soon  as  possible  would  be  placed  on 
the  boards  that  looked  after  the  settlements.     It  is 


METHODS  IN  VICTORIA  8i 

certain,  however,  that  the  partnership  between  state 
and  settler  is  Hkely  to  continue  for  many  years;  and 
so  long  as  it  is  financially  sound  there  is  no  reason 
why  it  should  not  continue. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  PRACTICAL  TEACHINGS  OF  AUSTRA- 
LIAN STATE  AIDED  SETTLEMENT 

The  development  of  closer  settlement  in  the  irri- 
gated area  of  an  Australian  state  is  of  great  prac- 
tical value  as  a  lesson  to  America.  It  was  such  an 
unquestioned  and  continuous  success  as  to  lead  to  its 
rapid  expansion  in  providing  homes  for  returning 
soldiers.  For  this  purpose,  Victoria,  with  half  the 
area,  half  the  people,  and  less  than  half  the  wealth 
of  California,  has  appropriated  $37,000,000. 

This  does  not  mean,  however,  that  no  mistakes 
were  made.  Changes  were  made  in  the  original 
plans  as  experience  showed  the  need  for  them.  One 
of  these  was  to  end  a  divided  control  of  the  land 
bought  for  settlement. 

W^hen  the  new  irrigation  policy  came  into  effect, 
there  was  a  land  board  which  for  many  years  had 
managed  the  crown  or  pubHc  land  and  had  also  sub- 
divided and  sold  large  pastoral  estates  which  the 
government  had  taken  over.  The  people  who 
bought  these  areas  continued  to  practice  the  only 
kind  of  agriculture  they  understood.  The  land  was 
cheap,  its  development  did  not  require  a  large  out- 
lay, and  a  wheat  crop  could  usually  be  grown  the 
first  season.  The  knowledge,  skill,  effort,  and 
money  needed  to  make  irrigated  settlement  a  suc- 

82 


AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT         83 

cess,  were  none  of  them  required  in  the  purchase, 
sale,  and  development  of  land  that  was  watered  by 
rain. 

The  government  in  its  effort  to  economize,  failed 
to  recognize  the  need  for  technical  knowledge  and 
special  experience  on  the  part  of  those  who  were  to 
buy,  subdivide,  and  irrigate  land  and  then  sell  it  as 
small  farms.  The  old  land  board  continued  to  buy 
land,  subdivide  it,  fix  its  price,  and  choose  settlers. 
It  could  then  wash  its  hands  of  responsibilities 
for  results.  The  new  State  Irrigation  Commission, 
which  had  recommended  the  closer  settlement  policy 
and  which  had  to  deal  with  the  settlers  after  they 
were  on  the  land,  was  left  with  little  power  or  in- 
fluence in  the  earlier  stages  of  development. 

This  division  of  authority  caused  delay  from  the 
fact  that  some  members  of  the  land  board  did  not 
believe  in  the  new  policy  and  were  openly  skeptical 
about  the  success  of  small  irrigated  farms.  There 
was  an  intention  to  cooperate.  The  Irrigation 
Commission  could  persuade  the  land  board  to  buy 
certain  areas  but  it  could  not  always  convince  the 
members  of  the  land  board  of  the  need  for  essential 
changes  in  their  methods. 

In  the  past,  when  the  land  board  had  bought  and 
sold  large  pastoral  estates,  it  had  added  from  10  to 
15  per  cent,  to  the  cost  to  pay  for  surveys,  advertis- 
ing, and  administration  expenses.  When  it  came  to 
buy  and  subdivide  irrigable  land,  no  increase  was 
made  in  this  percentage.  This  was  a  mistake.  Fif- 
teen per  cent,  would  not  pay  for  all  the  things  that 
had  to  be  done.  The  irrigated  farm  was  small;  the 
contour  survey  had  to  be  added  to  the  subdivisional 


84         HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

survey;  ditches  had  to  be  located;  the  surface  of  the 
land  had  to  be  prepared  for  the  application  of  water; 
and  settlers  had  to  be  taught  how  and  when  to  apply 
the  water.  Experience  soon  showed  that  to  make 
the  new  undertaking  solvent,  25  per  cent,  would  have 
to  be  added  to  the  original  purchase  price  to  cover 
all  the  expenses  of  development. 

When  the  State  bought  large  tracts  the  soil  in 
different  portions  varied  widely  in  quality.  When 
the  land  was  cut  up  into  small  farms  this  variation 
would  have  to  be  taken  into  account  in  fixing  prices, 
if  all  the  farms  were  to  be  made  equally  attractive. 
Differences  in  soil  were  far  more  important  where 
land  was  to  grow  high  priced  crops  than  where  farms 
were  to  grow  grain  or  grass.  The  land  board  did 
not  realize  this  and  at  first  failed  to  make  enough 
difference  in  price  between  the  best  and  the  poorest 
soil.  As  a  result  when  an  area  was  thrown  open, 
settlers  concentrated  their  applications  on  the  best 
land.  The  farms  with  poor  soil  were  left  to  be 
taken  reluctantly  by  those  who  failed  to  get  their  first 
choice. 

We  shall  see  that  this  experience  was  of  great 
benefit  eight  years  later  to  the  men  who  appraised 
the  farms  provided  by  the  Calfornia  Act. 

After  two  years  experience  with  a  divided  control 
in  Victoria  the  law  was  amended  so  as  to  give  the 
Irrigation  Commission  full  control  of  settlement  on 
irrigated  land. 

Another  important  lesson  to  be  learned  from 
Australia  is  that  the  settler  should  have  some  money 
of  his  own.  This  was  needed  to  make  him  a  safe 
risk  for  the  government.     The  possession  of  a  small 


1 


AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT         85 

capital  was  in  most  cases  an  evidence  of  industry  and 
thrift.  The  absence  of  capital  indicated  a  lack  of 
one  or  both  of  these  qualities.  The  man  without 
money  was,  however,  often  insistent  that  he  should 
be  given  a  chance,  as  he  put  it,  and  the  commission 
at  first  gave  way.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  this 
was  a  mistake.  It  was  soon  seen  that,  although  the 
exceptional  character  might  succeed  with  insufficient 
capital,  or  indeed  no  capital  at  all,  a  system  based  on 
the  government's  furnishing  all  the  money  and  taking 
all  the  risks  would  not  do.  A  solvent  system  had 
to  be  based  on  what  could  be  expected  from  the 
average  man. 

Experience  showed  that  selling  farms  to  men  with- 
out any  payments  or  without  requiring  them  to  have 
some  capital  for  development  was  a  mistaken  kind- 
ness. It  tempted  the  oversanguine  and  the  unstable, 
who  were  ready  to  make  the  venture  because  they 
had  nothing  to  lose  if  it  failed.  Furthermore,  it  was 
soon  apparent  that  if  settlers  without  capital  were  to 
be  accepted,  the  government  would  have  to  furnish 
far  more  money  for  development  than  the  $2,500 
which  the  Act  authorized  the  board  to  lend  every 
farmer. 

The  theory  of  building  houses  for  settlers,  instead 
of  lending  them  money  with  which  to  build  them  was 
sound,  but  at  the  outset  a  serious  mistake  was  made 
in  building  the  houses  before  the  farms  were  sold. 
When  applicants  began  to  inspect  the  farms,  it  was 
Rare  that  the  house  and  the  farm  were  both  satis- 
factory, if  the  land  were  satisfactory,  the  house 
was  either  of  the  wrong  size  or  in  the  wrong  place. 
The  dwelling  place  was  regarded  as  something  in- 


86        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

timate  and  personal  which  the  people  who  were  to 
live  in  it  wanted  located  and  arranged  according  to 
their  desires.  The  consequence  was  that  the  com- 
mission had  farms  with  empty  houses  on  its  hands 
after  all  of  the  unimproved  places  had  been  applied 
for.  The  windows  of  these  houses  were  targets  for 
the  stones  of  the  passersby;  in  a  few  months,  they 
took  on  a  neglected  unsightly  appearance  and  could 
not  be  sold  for  what  they  had  cost. 

The  main  difficulty  in  carrying  out  state  aided 
settlement  in  Australia,  however,  was  due  not  to  the 
imperfections  of  the  system  or  to  the  mistakes  of  the 
commission,  but  to  the  very  human  imperfections  of 
the  settlers,  incident  to  ignorance  or  lack  of  under- 
standing. In  some  of  the  districts  objections  to  the 
clause^  of  the  title  requiring  a  settler  to  live  on  his 
land  resulted  in  serious  agitation  to  remove  what 
was  termed  a  "  spotted  title."  It  is  particularly 
Interesting  to  note  that  Americans  who  went  to 
Australia  did  not  understand  that  a  sound  policy 
of  land  settlement  could  not  permit  speculation. 
On  account  of  the  restrictions  of  the  Australian 
titles,  few  who  went  from  the  United  States  to 
Australia  were  willing  to  take  up  land.  When 
they  found  that  they  must  live  on  their  farms 
and  could  sell  only  to  those  who  would  be  eligible 
under  the  Act,  nine  out  of  ten  refused  to  buy. 
They  said,  "  We  came  over  here  thinking  there 
was  a  chance  for  a  quick  turn.  We  thought  the 
development  would  cause  the  land  to  rise  in  price 
and  we  would  be  able  to  sell  out  in  a  year  or  two  at 
an  advance."  In  other  words,  the  Americans  looked 
on  colonization  as  an  opportunity  for  a  speculative 


AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT         87 

land  deal,  one  of  the  evils  which  the  State  of  Victoria 
aimed  to  remove. 

In  every  settlement,  there  were  people  who  did  not 
have  it  in  them  to  succeed.  Some  were  lacking  in 
judgment.  They  did  not  know  how  and  could  not 
be  taught  how  to  make  money.  They  would  perse- 
vere in  trying  to  do  what  was  certain  to  end  in 
failure  or  loss.  Others  were  lazy,  or  were  simply 
discontented  agitators  who  seemed  to  envy  all  who 
succeeded.  The  idle  settler  was  a  serious  menace 
to  the  scheme.  A  loafer  and  a  poorly  tilled  farm 
went  together.  Both  were  sources  of  irritation  to 
those  who  worked  and  who  had  pride  in  their  com- 
munity. 

The  worker,  or  "  battler,"  as  he  is  fittingly  called 
in  Australia,  was  never  turned  off  his  farm  if  he  got 
behind  with  his  payments  through  illness,  failure  of 
crops,  or  other  causes  beyond  his  control.  He  was 
always  encouraged  and  helped.  A  clear  line  of  dis- 
tinction had  to  be  drawn  between  the  treatment  of 
these  worthy  settlers  and  the  slackers  and  agitators 
or  impractical  workers.  If  settlers  who  failed  from 
lack  of  character  or  practical  fitness  for  farm  hfe 
were  allowed  or  helped  to  retain  their  farms,  the 
neighborhood  would  soon  become  demoralized.  If 
they  met  their  payments  nothing  could  be  done,  but 
the  slacker  as  a  rule  was  soon  In  arrears. 

Above  all,  the  management  of  the  settlements  was 
a  human  problem.  Success  depended  quite  largely 
on  what  those  in  authority  knew  of  the  character  and 
efforts  of  each  settler  and  this  intimate  knowledge 
could  only  come  where  settlers  were  grouped  together 
and    were    in    intimate    contact    with    each    other. 


88        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Group  settlement  enabled  the  superintendent  to  exert 
a  personal  influence  and  so  help  mold  a  community 
pride,  courage,  and  neighborhood  feeling  that  carried 
them  over  obstacles  that  would  have  daunted  the 
same  people  acting  alone. 

The  relation  between  the  government  and  the 
settlers  had  to  be  intimate  and  personal.  Nearly 
all  of  them  had  been  unable  to  save  money  in  the 
past.  Some  did  not  know  how.  If  loaned  money 
and  then  left  to  spend  it  without  advice,  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  settlers  in  the  irrigated  areas  would 
have  failed  and  walked  out  poorer  than  they  came  in. 
As  it  was,  eighty-five  per  cent,  succeeded  and  some 
have  already  become  well  to  do. 

It  was  essential  to  keep  the  board's  relation  to  the 
settler  on  a  commercial  footing.  It  was  made  clear 
that  the  financial  obligations  of  the  settler  to  the 
state  had  to  be  met.  Once  this  idea  is  lost  or  even 
weakened,  state  aid  becomes  a  demoralizing  influ- 
ence. There  must  be  constant  care  and  firmness  to 
prevent  settlers  from  seeking  to  secure  more  than 
they  deserve  through  political  pressure.  About  two 
years  after  the  irrigation  settlements  were  started  a 
number  of  settlers'  protective  associations  were 
formed  which,  as  a  rule,  were  admirable;  but  one  of 
them  came  under  the  control  of  a  body  of  political 
agitators.  It  prepared  a  circular  which  stated  there 
was  no  need  for  settlers  to  make  payments  to  the 
government;  that  if  all  would  refuse  to  pay  the  gov- 
ernment would  be  afraid  to  make  wholesale  evictions 
and  their  debts  would  be  written  ofif. 

This  was  sent  to  all  settlers'  organizations  and  one 
group  of  emigrants  from  Europe  refused  to  make 


AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT         89 

any  payments.  The  commission  had  to  meet  this 
challenge;  those  who  followed  an  agreed  course  of 
passive  resistance  in  refusing  to  pay  were  put  off  their 
farms.  Eviction  was  unpleasant  but  absolutely 
necessary. 

The  experience  of  the  Australian  settlements  has 
brought  out  very  emphatically  the  value  of  grouping 
settlers.  Community  or  group  settlement  is  essen- 
tial to  success  in  development  of  this  kind  because 
the  struggle  to  earn  a  living  and  pay  for  a  farm  is 
a  hard  one.  The  profits  of  agriculture  are  not  great. 
Success  comes  through  continued  industry  and  thrift; 
and  it  helps  people  who  make  this  struggle  to  live 
among  others  who  are  making  it.  In  a  community 
of  industry  and  thrift  there  is  no  feeling  of  humilia- 
tion; on  the  contrary,  in  time  there  grows  a  feeling 
of  worthy  pride. 

Such  a  community  has  the  spirit  of  an  army.  The 
members  do  not  object  to  patched  clothes  if  the 
clothes  of  their  neighbors  are  patched.  A  commun- 
ity will  go  through  a  period  of  stress  without  feeling 
its  discomforts,  where  an  individual  family  placed 
among  people  who  own  their  homes  and  are  not 
obliged  to  save  money,  will  feel  keenly  the  economies 
they  must  practice  to  succeed.  The  psychological 
influence  of  group  settlement  has  at  the  outset  great 
value,  which  grows  even  greater  as  the  marvelous 
transformation  effected  by  the  efforts  of  a  community 
begins  to  be  manifest. 

In  Victoria,  the  press,  public  officials,  and  farmers 
in  other  sections  of  the  state  began  to  talk  about  the 
changes  that  had  come  in  the  country  around  Roches- 
ter and  Shepparton  and  in  the  river  counties  along 


90         HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

the  Murray.  A  community  of  good  farms  was  far 
more  impressive  than  a  single  good  farm.  It  could 
be  seen  from  the  car  windows.  It  caused  the  towns 
to  grow  and  Improve  and  caused  the  state  to  under- 
stand the  significance  of  what  was  taking  place. 
Larger  yields,  better  stock,  and  better  homes  over  a 
large  area,  created  a  pride  in  the  country  on  the  part 
of  the  people  who  lived  In  it,  that  could  never  have 
been  built  up  by  scattered  individual  farms,  no  matter 
how  good  they  were. 

There  are  other  reasons  why  group  settlement 
will  succeed,  when  settlement  of  isolated  Individuals 
will  fail.  Economies  in  development,  such  as  build- 
ing houses  and  preparing  land  for  Irrigation,  are  only 
possible  where  settlers  are  grouped.  The  advant- 
ages of  group  settlement  do  not  end,  however,  when 
people  are  on  the  farms.  Cooperation  and  organ- 
ization in  buying,  in  selling,  in  education,  and  in  social 
matters,  produce  results  which  would  justify  group 
settlement  even  If  there  were  no  other  advantages. 

After  a  few  years  it  became  evident  in  Victoria 
that  a  great  factor  In  success  was  speed  In  improving 
and  equipping  farms.  The  time  consumed  In  get- 
ting all  the  land  under  cultivation  had  a  direct  rela- 
tion to  the  farm  owner's  success.  Most  of  the  fail- 
ures were  on  farms  where  the  developing  period  took 
more  than  two  years.  The  reasons  for  this  are  not 
obscure.  Uncultivated  land  did  not  give  enough 
return  to  pay  interest  and  taxes.  Overdue  pay- 
ments. Interest,  and  taxes,  added  to  the  first  cost  of 
the  farm,  caused  the  settler  to  lose  heart.  Delay 
in  helping  a  settler  added  therefore  to  the  risk  and 
to  the  ultimate  cost  of  putting  him  on  his  feet.     In 


AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT         91 

time,  it  became  a  part  of  the  program  to  give  prompt 
and  adequate  help  to  the  settler  who  helped  himself 
but  to  encourage  a  change  in  the  ownership  of  the 
farm,  when  a  settler  began  to  lean  too  much  on  the 
state. 

At  first  the  number  of  Australian  settlers  was  rela- 
tively small  because  of  the  prejudice  against  small 
farms.  The  first  recruits  came  mainly  from  abroad, 
but  as  the  result  of  intensive  cultivation  began  to  be 
seen,  more  and  more  Victorians  became  settlers. 
One  marked  feature  was  the  large  number  of  sons  of 
tradesmen,  artisans,  and  storekeepers  who  left  cities 
like  Melbourne  and  soon  took  their  places  among 
the  best  of  the  farmers.  Lack  of  experience  was 
more  than  made  up  for  by  mental  alertness  and  free- 
dom to  adopt  new  ideas  and  practices.  They  be- 
came the  best  pupils  of  the  superintendent. 

Three  years  after  the  Rochester  Settlement  was 
established,  when  the  governor  of  the  state  made  a 
visit  through  the  districts,  the  Leader,  one  of  the 
Victorian  agricultural  papers,  made  the  following 
comment : 

"  A  visitor  to  this  district,  at  this  season  of  the  year,  three 
years  ago,  would  have  found  the  whole  country  as  brown 
and  dusty  as  the  Mallee.  Cereals  were  the  only  cultivated 
crops,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  land  was  used  as  native 
grass  pastures.  The  few  settlers  were  widely  separated  from 
each  other,  and  both  the  appearance  of  the  country,  its  pro- 
ductive capacity,  and  the  social  conditions,  left  much  to  be 
desired.  Now  the  country  is  traversed  by  numerous  channels 
from  which  water  is  every^vhere  being  poured  on  green  and 
luxuriant  fields.  The  returns  from  the  agriculture  are  al- 
ready great,  and  must  increase  with  the  better  preparation 


92        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

and  cultivation  of  the  land  which  each  year  is  witnessing. 
The  contrast  between  the  conditions  existing  three  years  ago 
and  those  of  to-day  is  so  encouraging  as  to  make  the  district 
worthy  of  a  visit  by  all  those  who  wish  to  understand  the 
state's  resources. 

"  To  rightly  appreciate  the  attractive  conditions  of  this 
district  and  the  progress  which  has  been  made  in  three  years, 
one  should  compare  it  with  the  unirrigated  country  outside. 
Then  one  can  realize  how  the  country  looked  when  the  first 
settlers  began  their  work.  It  must  be  remembered  that  when 
the  allotments  were  taken  there  was  not  an  acre  of  land 
graded  and  prepared  for  irrigation,  that  the  hundreds  of 
acres  now  being  cultivated  were  then  ringbarked  timber 
paddocks  used  for  pasture,  and  that  to  bring  the  country  to 
its  present  state  of  perfection  thousands  of  acres  of  land  had 
to  be  graded,  hundreds  of  miles  of  channels  built,  and  on 
every  block  a  large  amount  of  work  done  in  fencing  and  in 
the  erection  of  improvements.  It  is  this  which  now  makes 
this  country  so  homelike  and  attractive." 

A  review  of  what  had  been  accomplished  in  Vic- 
toria was  made  by  the  Premier  in  his  budget  speech 
in  1 9 14.  It  shows  why  the  state  has  made  $37,- 
000,000  available  for  soldier  settlements: 

"  The  most  gratifying  feature  connected  with  the  state's 
investment  in  irrigation  works  is  the  improvement  in  scien- 
tific agriculture.  The  final  success  of  this  investment  de- 
pends on  the  returns  which  can  be  obtained,  and  in  this  re- 
spect the  state  stands  in  an  entirely  different  position  from 
that  occupied  five  years  ago  when  it  made  intense  culture 
combined  with  closer  settlement  the  basis  of  future  develop- 
ment. This  was  an  experiment,  the  success  of  which  was 
doubted  by  many;  now  it  is  a  demonstrated  success.  Over 
large  areas  in  widely  separated  districts  more  than  ten  times 
as  many  families  are  settled  in  comfortable  homes,  under 


1 


AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT         93 

attractive  social  conditions  as  were  there  five  years  ago,  and 
they  are  obtaining  returns  from  their  holdings  that  even  less 
than  five  years  ago  were  regarded  as  impossible.  The 
demonstration  that  families  can  be  fully  employed  and  ob- 
tain a  comfortable  living  on  from  20  to  40  acres  of  irrigable 
land  not  only  ensures  the  financial  success  of  our  investment 
in  irrigation  works,  but  gives  a  new  conception  of  the  ulti- 
mate population  which  this  state  will  support  and  the  agri- 
cultural wealth  it  will  produce.  These  results  are  being 
obtained  from  growing  farm  crops,  but  in  several  of  the 
Northern  areas  there  are  also  numerous  5  and  10  acre  blocks 
devoted  to  fruit  and  vegetables  which  are  supporting  families 
in  comfort.  The  most  valuable  feature  of  the  development 
has  been  the  rapidly  extending  lucerne  areas,  and  the  large 
returns  which  are  being  obtained.  In  one  district  747  acres 
have  been  rented  this  season  for  a  period  of  six  months  for 
$40,125,  which  is  considerably  more  than  the  settlers  paid  the 
state  for  the  land.  The  financial  returns  of  irrigators  are 
not  more  important  to  the  state  than  the  tens  of  thousands  of 
live-stock  which  in  this  drought  year  are  being  saved  from 
starvation. 

"  That  progress  is  being  made  along  sound  lines  and  is 
destined  to  be  permanent  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  it  has 
not  been  secured  under  a  stimulus  of  dry  seasons.  This  is 
practically  the  first  year  since  the  actual  commencement  of 
our  irrigation  schemes  that  we  have  not  experienced  abundant 
and  timely  rains. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  many  of  the  settlers  were 
inexperienced  and  lacked  capital  the  small  irrigated  farm  is 
paying  well  and  doing  this  in  districts  having  relatively  high 
water  charges.  The  irrigator  at  Merbein  pays  $3-75  an 
acre-foot  for  water,  the  irrigator  at  Nyah  pays  $3 -50  an 
acre-foot,  yet  this  has  had  no  perceptible  retarding  influence 
on  the  progress  or  success  of  these  districts." 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  DEFECTS  OF  PRIVATE  COLONIZATION 
SCHEMES  AS  SHOWN  BY  PRACTICAL  RE- 
SULTS IN  CALIFORNIA 

At  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century  California  was 
ready  for  a  new  and  better  rural  life.  The  alfalfa 
fields,  the  orange  and  prune  orchards,  and  the  grow- 
ing acres  of  vines  showed  what  could  be  done  on  the 
soil  of  the  State  with  the  help  of  irrigation  and  scien- 
tific culture.  The  irrigable  parts  of  the  State  had 
the  resources  needed  to  support  a  dense  population 
with  a  high  average  of  human  comfort.  The  climate 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  State  is  free  from  extremes 
of  heat  and  cold.  Few  other  parts  of  the  world  are 
so  well  suited  to  outdoor  life.  Here  the  best  types 
of  American  farmers  wanted  to  make  their  homes. 
The  charm  and  the  profits  of  the  California  farm  and 
orchard  were  attracting  them  from  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

There  was  need  for  a  change.  The  State  had  in 
its  irrigable  sections,  large  areas  badly  cultivated  and 
thinly  peopled.  Out  of  twenty-eight  million  acres  of 
farm  land,  eleven  million  acres  were  not  being  cul- 
tivated at  all  or  were  being  badly  farmed.  The  de- 
velopment of  agriculture  was  not  keeping  pace  with 
the  growth  of  the  large  cities. 

The  large  wheat  farms  gave  small  acreage  returns. 
The  constant  production  of  cereal  crops  was  making 

94 


^ 


DEFECTS  OF  COLONIZATION        95 

the  soil  less  fertile.  Few  owners  lived  on  the  large 
estates,  which,  as  a  rule,  were  cultivated  by  tenants 
or  by  a  shifting  and  discontented  body  of  farm 
laborers.  The  social  life  was  in  sorry  contrast  to 
that  in  the  small  farm  colonies  such  as  those  about 
Fresno  in  the  north  and  Riverside  in  the  south. 

In  1903,  when  the  Irish  Land  Purchase  Act  went 
into  effect,  there  was  no  country  in  Europe  which 
presented  so  attractive  a  field  for  rural  planning  as 
California.  Irrigable  land.  In  areas  of  10,000  to 
100,000  acres,  could  be  bought  at  from  $10  to 
$50  an  acre.  Unused  water  in  the  rivers  was  abund- 
ant; there  was  an  opportunity  to  construct  profitable 
irrigation  systems  on  a  comprehensive  scale.  Money 
for  this  could  be  provided  by  the  State  or  Nation  on 
better  terms  than  those  which  could  be  offered  by  a 
private  corporation. 

But  the  opportunity  was  not  grasped.  The  ex- 
perience and  the  ability  of  the  State's  citizens  and 
the  wealth  of  altruistic  purpose  of  the  people  were 
not  mobilized  to  plan  and  direct  development  tor 
general  welfare.  Development  was  left  to  private 
enterprise  and  a  selfish  and  short  sighted  individual- 
ism was  not  only  tolerated  but  admired.  Real 
estate  sharks  from  all  sections  of  the  nation  flocked 
to  California  to  reap  a  rich  harvest  out  of  unwary 
home  seekers.  "  Caveat  Emptor  "  ^  ought  to  have 
been  written  over  the  doors  of  most  of  their  offices. 
They  were  for  a  time  the  sole  rural  planners.  A 
State  that  sought  for  material  progress  looked  with 
tolerant  eyes  on  their  methods  until  the  wrongs  of 
many   deceived   colonists  began   to   be   understood. 

1 "  Let  the  settler  beware." 


96        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Because  private  enterprise  lacked  social  vision  and 
because  the  State  Government  was  for  the  time  in- 
different to  what  was  taking  place  and  to  the  need 
for  public  direction,  many  unique  opportunities  for  a 
development  which  the  world  would  have  admired 
were  lost.     One  instance  is  given. 

East  and  North  of  Sacramento,  the  State  Capital, 
was  the  40,000  acre  stock  ranch  of  Mr.  J.  B.  Hag- 
gin.  He  had  owned  it  for  many  years.  The  city 
grew  to  its  boundaries  and  then  had  to  expand  in 
other  directions.  Two  railroads  crossed  it;  the 
American  River  with  ample  water  for  irrigation 
flowed  past  it.  The  land  was  an  ideal  homesite  for 
workmen  in  the  railroad  shops  and  in  other  indus- 
tries. Although  some  of  it  is  unfit  for  intense  cul- 
ture, other  areas  are  so  fertile  and  well  located  that 
all  the  products  of  the  semi-tropical  and  temperate 
zones  can  be  grown  on  the  same  acre  of  land.  On 
this  great  domain  a  trained  mind  could  have  created 
a  background  for  the  Capital  City  of  the  State  which 
would  have  been  worth  crossing  the  continent  to  see. 
If  it  had  been  created,  thousands  would  have  sought 
to  live  there.  A  garden  city  like  that  of  Letchworth, 
England,  could  have  been  created  with  an  environ- 
ment far  more  lovely  and  an  influence  for  good  in- 
finitely greater. 

The  owners  of  the  estate  had  this  vision.  They 
tried  to  induce  the  city  of  Sacramento  or  a  commit- 
tee of  citizens  to  buy  the  land  and  make  its  develop- 
ment a  public  matter.  They  were  willing  to  sell  the 
estate  at  a  low  price  and  on  terms  of  payment  that 
would  have  made  a  planned  development  easy.  The 
city  and  its  citizens,  however,  threw  away  the  oppor- 


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SETTLER-S  HOME  AT  DURHAM  BUILT   BY  BOARD 


DEFECTS  OF  COLONIZATION        97 

tunity,  because  the  idea  was  new  and  the  methods 
and  results  of  planned  development  in  other  countries 
were  not  generally  understood. 

The  land  was  sold  to  a  speculator  from  an  eastern 
city.  He  did  not  live  in  California;  he  had  no  pride 
in  the  State's  progress  and  no  concern  in  creating  a 
rural  civilization  worthy  of  the  State.  He  bought 
the  land  to  make  money.  He  cut  it  up  into  blocks 
to  suit  the  purses  of  other  investors  or  speculators. 
Land  unfit  for  cultivation  was  sold  as  orchard  or 
farm  land.  City  additions  were  created  without  any 
central  design.  Beauty  and  convenience  were  sacri- 
ficed. One  speculator  is  reported  to  have  made  a 
million  dollars  but  what  the  city  of  Sacramento  lost 
cannot  be  measured  or  paid  for  in  money. 

About  the  time  the  Haggin  Ranch  was  sold  to 
speculators,  the  Australian  State  of  New  South 
Wales  began  making  plans  for  settling  half  a  million 
acres  of  Irrigated  land  along  the  Murrumbldgee 
River.  This  land  was  then  a  sheep  run.  There 
were  neither  roads,  railroads,  towns,  nor  people. 
Families  to  occupy  the  farms  and  towns  would  have 
to  be  brought  from  distant  countries.  Life  was  so 
crude  and  primitive  that  any  change  would  have 
meant  progress;  even  an  unplanned  development 
such  as  America  had  seen  in  the  transformation  of 
the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  would  have 
brought  great  material  results.  But  instead  of 
leaving  roads,  cities,  and  farms  to  grow  without  de- 
sign or  direction.  New  South  Wales  employed  the 
best  talent  and  experience  it  could  procure  to  design 
this  development  so  as  to  provide  all  that  rural  civil- 
ization would  need. 


98        HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  manner  in  which  the  Haggin  lands  were  dealt 
with  is  typical  of  private  colonization  all  over  Amer- 
ica. The  typical  private  colonization  scheme  does 
not  render  the  kind  of  service  the  Nation  needs. 
Private  colonization  and  development  is  neither 
cheap  nor  efficient.  It  places  on  many  unwary  be- 
ginners burdens  that  they  cannot  afford  to  carry. 

In  the  past,  private  colonizers  have  given  little 
thought  to  the  needs  of  settlers.  They  have  bought 
land  and  sold  farms  as  they  would  buy  and  sell  corner 
lots  in  a  boom  town.  Their  ability  has  been  mairily 
shown  in  writing  alluring  advertisements  and  work- 
ing out  selling  devices.  Too  often  the  main  appeal 
has  been  to  the  American  passion  for  speculation. 
Clerks,  artisans,  and  business  men  who  knew  nothing 
of  farming  and  never  expected  to  farm,  have  bought 
farming  areas  not  to  live  on  them  and  cultivate  them, 
but  to  share  in  the  increment  which  the  development 
by  others  would  bring. 

Farmers  who  go  to  California  from  the  corn  and 
wheat  belts  of  the  East  find  their  past  experience  of 
little  value  in  determining  what  land  is  worth.  In 
one  noted  instance,  eastern  farm  buyers  were  shown 
land  that  two  years  before  had  been  bought  for  $7.00 
an  acre.  They  were  told  this  and  also  told  that  the 
present  price  was  $200.00  an  acre;  and  they  were 
advised  to  buy  because  next  year  it  would  sell  for 
$400  an  acre.  This  did  not  seem  impossible;  for 
the  air  was  full  of  stories  of  money  made  out  of  land 
deals.  Many  who  bought  took  a  profit  if  there  was 
a  rise.  If  the  land  could  not  be  sold  at  an  advance, 
they  lost  the  first  payments  and  the  land  reverted 
to  the  colonizers. 


DEFECTS  OF  COLONIZATION        99 

The  lack  of  business  judgment  shown  by  some  of 
the  buyers  when  under  the  influence  of  the  seductive 
tongue  of  a  good  salesman  was  amazing.  One  who 
had  only  $1,575  agreed  to  pay  $7,500  for  a  piece 
of  land  and  put  up  $1,500  as  a  first  payment.  That 
left  him  $75  with  which  to  build  a  house,  buy  a  team, 
get  his  farm  equipment,  prepare  the  land  for  irriga- 
tion, and  pay  his  living  expenses  while  he  was  putting 
in  a  crop.     He  lost  his  money. 

Another  sanguine  home  seeker  came  to  California 
with  $1,100,  a  wife,  and  four  small  children.  He 
bargained  for  40  acres  of  land,  at  $125  an  acre, 
turned  over  $1,000  as  a  first  payment  and  then  had 
$100  in  cash,  a  small  equity  in  40  acres  of  land,  and 
a  debt  of  $4,000.  Before  he  could  begin  to  earn  the 
money  to  pay  this  debt  or  support  his  family,  he  had 
to  have  a  house,  a  team,  a  cow,  farm  machinery,  and 
at  least  $1,000  to  prepare  the  land  for  irrigation. 
He  had  neither  the  money  nor  any  sources  of  credit. 
He  used  his  remaining  $100  to  escape  from  the  State 
with  a  vivid  sense  of  the  wrong  he  had  suffered. 

Between  1900  and  the  present,  land  prices  under 
private  colonization  have  risen  rapidly  not  only  in 
California  but  in  other  parts  of  America.  In  order 
to  succeed,  the  buyer  has  to  have  more  and  more 
capital.  It  has  constantly  taken  more  money  to 
make  a  first  payment  on  a  farm.  A  better  equip- 
ment is  needed  to  farm  high  priced  land  because 
cultivation  has  to  be  more  thorough  while  a  crop 
failure  is  attended  with  far  more  serious  results. 
When  farm  land  sold  for  $10  or  $25  an  acre,  it 
could  be  paid  for,  and  often  was  paid  for,  in  five 
years;  but  when  the  price  rose  to  $100  or  $200  an 


loo      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

acre,  the  settler  who  would  be  successful  had  to  have 
more  money  at  the  beginning,  a  longer  time  in  which 
to  pay  for  the  land,  and  some  source  of  credit  from 
which  to  borrow  money  for  equipment. 

These  facts  either  have  not  been  realized  or  have 
been  deliberately  ignored  by  the  private  colonizing 
agencies.  When  the  State  Colonization  Commis- 
sion pointed  out  that  other  countries  were  giving  a 
far  longer  time  to  pay  for  land  and  that  a  far 
longer  time  should  be  given  in  California,  the 
chief  protest  came  from  the  private  colonizers. 
They  argued  that  if  men  thought  they  could  pay  for 
land  in  five  years  they  would  buy  it,  but  if  they  were 
told  that  it  would  take  from  ten  to  twenty  years  to 
pay  for  it,  they  would  refuse  to  buy. 

The  interest  rate  on  deferred  land  payments  was 
usually  6  per  cent.,  but  when  the  settler  came  to 
borrow  money  to  improve  a  farm  on  which  the  seller 
had  a  first  mortgage,  he  had  no  commercial  security 
to  offer  and  had  to  get  money  from  friends  or  rela- 
tives or  as  a  personal  favor  from  banks.  Lending 
money  to  new  settlers  had  been  a  bad  business  for 
country  banks.  As  one  of  them  expressed  it,  "  It 
turned  bankers  into  pawn  brokers."  Their  only 
security  was  a  chattel  mortgage  on  farm  implements 
and  live-stock  and  the  time  and  expense  required  to 
look  after  small  loans  made  it  necessary  to  charge 
high  interest  rates. 

The  State  Colonization  Commission  investigated 
thirty-two  typical  colonies,  walked  with  the  buyers 
over  the  farms,  looked  into  homes,  and  saw  the 
crops.  It  secured  records  of  the  money  settlers  had 
spent  and  of  their  incomes  from  crops.     These  field 


DEFECTS  OF  COLONIZATION      loi 

studies  were  supplemented  by  statistics  gathered  by 
Chambers  of  Commerce  in  closely  settled  districts. 

In  the  thirty-two  colonies  studied  by  the  commis- 
sion there  were  twenty-four  in  which  settlement  was 
still  going  on.  The  farms  were  sold  without  im- 
provements; and  since  some  of  those  recently  pur- 
chased still  lacked  houses  and  barns,  the  average 
cost  of  the  improvements  already  made  was  there- 
fore below  what  it  would  be  when  development  had 
been  completed. 

In  the  eight  older  colonies  there  had  been  a  marked 
rise  in  the  value  of  unimproved  lands,  which  showed 
that  the  original  price  charged  was  not  too  high. 
Practically  all  of  the  settlers  were  behind  in  their 
payments.  Out  of  nearly  a  thousand  who  filled  out 
the  Inquiry  blank  of  the  commission  not  one  had  been 
able  to  make  the  payments  stipulated  in  the  purchase 
contract.  The  settlers  were  working  hard,  living 
frugally,  and  getting  more  than  average  returns 
from  their  crops.  Failure  was  not  due  to  agricul- 
ture or  the  settler  but  to  defects  in  the  sale  plan. 

The  average  cost  of  land  in  the  newer  settlements 
was  $225  an  acre.  The  average  cost  In  the  older 
ones  was  $260  an  acre.  The  average  time  for  com- 
pleting payments  was  six  years  and  the  average  in- 
terest rate  eight  per  cent.  The  average  debt  of 
these  settlers  was  about  half  the  cost  of  the  farm,  or 
in  the  new  settlements  about  $4500  on  a  forty-acre 
farm.  The  first  year  the  settler  would  have  to  pay 
eight  per  cent,  interest  on  the  debt  and  one-sixth  of 
the  debt  itself,  or  $1210.  In  addition,  there  were 
taxes,  the  expenses  of  the  family,  the  cost  of  seed  and 
repairs  of  implements,  which  would  amount  to  an- 


I02       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

other  $1200.  The  farm  had  therefore  to  produce 
about  $60  an  acre,  and  this  was  far  above  the  returns 
from  agriculture  where  orchards  had  not  come  into 
bearing  and  dairy  herds  had  still  to  be  built  up. 

There  were  two  glaring  financial  defects  in  private 
colonization.  The  time  for  paying  for  a  farm  was 
too  short  and  the  interest  rate  was  too  high.  Pri- 
vate colonization  showed  how  methods  and  ideas 
persist  after  the  reason  for  their  existence  have  dis- 
appeared. When  land  sold  from  ten  to  twenty  dol- 
lars an  acre,  men  could  pay  for  it  in  five  years  out 
of  the  sales  of  crops.  When  the  debt  was  small  a 
high  interest  rate  did  not  matter,  but  with  the  high- 
priced  land  and  the  costly  equipment  needed  to  farm 
it  in  these  California  settlements,  the  annual  interest 
payment  was  more  than  the  cost  of  the  land  a  few 
years  before.  Success  could  only  be  had  by  a  com- 
plete change  in  the  selling  plan. 

Under  the  State  Land  Settlement  Act,  the  yearly 
interest  payment  is  five  per  cent,  and  the  payment 
on  the  principal  one  per  cent.,  or  six  per  cent,  instead 
of  twenty-four.  The  settler  can  meet  this  and, 
knowing  it,  works  with  confidence  and  hope.  The 
settler  could  not  make  a  payment  of  twenty-four  per 
cent,  and,  when  he  failed,  he  held  his  home  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  owner  of  the  mortgage,  who  was 
usually  a  stranger.  It  does  not  add  to  the  comfort 
of  the  family  to  feel  that  day  after  day  their  toil 
and  sacrifices  may  go  for  nothing.  Seldom  In  Cali- 
fornia is  a  mortgage  foreclosed,  if  a  settler  meets 
his  payments  and  a  little  more,  but  far  too  many 
have  not  even  been  able  to  do  this.  They  had 
promised  to  pay  more  than  a  highly  improved  farm 


DEFECTS  OF  COLONIZATION      103 

could  earn.  In  many  cases  they  were  not  able 
to  borrow  money  to  improve  their  tarms  even  by  pay- 
ing high  interest  rates.  It  has  been  shown  repeat- 
edly that  two  out  of  every  three  settlers  failed,  a 
percentage  altogether  too  large. 

Where  settlers  failed  to  meet  their  payments  the 
land  seller  lost  money  as  well  as  the  land  buyer. 
Whatever  there  was  of  loss  and  disappointment  was 
rarely  due  to  dishonesty  or  greed,  but  to  the  fact 
that  the  social  and  economic  problems  of  rural  de- 
velopment had  not  been  studied,  that  methods  suited 
to  the  changed  conditions  had  not  applied. 

The  time  given  to  pay  for  a  farm  in  countries  that 
have  studied  farm  settlement  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  buyer  is  from  six  to  ten  times  that  granted  by 
private  colonizers  in  California,  while  the  interest 
rate  Is  only  a  little  more  than  half.  In  addition,  it 
has  been  the  invariable  practice  in  countries  having 
planned  rural  development  to  amortize  the  payments. 
This  lessens  the  amount  to  be  paid  in  the  earher 
years. 

In  the  countries  having  a  planned  rural  develop- 
ment, public  opinion  has  tended  to  keep  the  price  of 
unimproved  land  low.  In  America,  the  influence  of 
the  speculative  colonizer  has  inflated  prices,  because 
he  looked  to  inflation  for  his  profit.  This  influence, 
working  continuously,  has  made  the  price  of  land  in 
some  of  the  unpeopled,  undeveloped  sections  of 
America  above  the  price  of  land  in  the  densely  peo- 
pled, highly  cultivated,  and  highly  improved  portions 
of  Europe. 

The  extremely  low  price  of  land  in  Ireland  Is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  price  was  fixed  by  legislation 


I04      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

rather  than  by  the  productive  value  of  the  land,  but 
this  was  not  true  in  England,  Denmark,  or  Germany, 
where  the  land  was  all  bought  by  agreement. 

Where  the  demand  for  land  has  forced  govern- 
ments to  buy  rapidly,  it  has  tended  to  inflate  prices; 
but  such  inflation  has  been  quickly  followed  by  laws 
to  restrict  prices.  A  German  ofllicial  report  dealing 
with  this  aspect  of  settlement  said  in  defense  of  a  law 
to  buy  by  condemnation : 

**  Colonization  has  been  made  a  public  matter,  because 
when  it  was  a  private  matter  persons  bought  land  without 
having  funds  to  pay  for  it,  only  to  make  a  profit  by  selling 
it  again  at  the  first  opportunity.  Unprincipled  middlemen 
persuaded  owners  to  part  with  their  lands  and  other  pro- 
fessional subdividers  of  land  sometimes  unscrupulously  dis- 
membered holdings  with  an  utter  disregard  for  economies; 
and  the  consequence  has  been  a  continual  increase  in  the 
price  of  land. 

**  While  every  other  part  of  the  country  exerted  itself  to 
the  utmost  to  strengthen  and  augment  its  agricultural  re- 
sources by  increasing  and  elevating  Its  rural  population,  It 
cannot  be  considered  encouraging  that  in  eastern  Germany 
there  are  vast  territories  almost  wholly  In  the  hands  of  a 
few  landed  proprietors.  The  existence  of  such  large  landed 
estates  not  only  hinders  the  natural  progress  of  the  peasant 
class,  but  greatest  evil  of  all,  It  is  the  principal  cause  of  the 
diminished  population  of  many  territories  because  the  work- 
ing classes,  finding  no  chances  of  moral  or  economic  improve- 
ment, are  driven  to  emigrate  to  the  great  cities  and  manufac- 
turing districts.  Scientific  researches  also  prove  that  small 
farms  nowadays  are  more  profitable  than  large;  above  all, 
small  live-stock  improved  farms,  the  importance  of  which  for 
the  nutriment  of  the  people  is  constantly  increasing." 


DEFECTS  OF  COLONIZATION      105 

To  give  effect  to  these  ideas  the  German  Govern- 
ment provided  for  the  compulsory  purchase  of  large 
estates  where  these  were  needed  for  closer  settle- 
ment. In  New  Zealand  owners  of  large  estates  are 
permitted  to  fix  their  value  for  taxing  purposes,  the 
government  having  the  option  of  buying  the  land  at 
this  value  plus  twelve  per  cent.,  which  is  added  to 
compensate  the  owner  for  the  losses  caused  by  the 
abrupt  transfer.  Much  of  the  rural  growth  and 
prosperity  of  New  Zealand  is  due  to  the  small  farm 
homes  made  possible  by  this  act. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

CALIFORNIA'S  FIRST  STATE  SETTLEMENT 

PURCHASE  OF  THE  LAND;  IRRIGATION;  SUB- 
DIVISION; SELECTION  OF  COLONISTS;  AID 
GIVEN  FARMERS 

An  account  of  the  growth  of  the  colony  at  Durham 
is  here  given  because  it  is  believed  that  other  States 
will  be  interested  in  a  record  of  the  obstacles  en- 
countered in  California  and  of  the  means  taken  to 
overcome  them.  The  record  gives  in  detail  some  of 
the  homely  helpful  acts  of  the  board  to  promote  the 
well  being  of  settlers. 

This  chapter  will  indicate  the  personnel  of  the 
board  and  describe  how  land  was  purchased.  It  will 
show  how  water  rights  were  settled,  how  ade- 
quate water  supply  was  assured  to  the  farmers,  and 
how  the  land  was  prepared  for  irrigation.  It  will 
describe  how  the  land  was  divided  into  farms  accord- 
ing to  a  soil  survey  and  how  the  prices  of  farms  were 
determined.  It  will  deal  with  the  preparation  of 
farms  for  cultivation,  the  selection  of  settlers,  the 
help  given  to  settlers  in  planning  and  building  homes, 
and  the  regard  for  the  health  of  the  community  so 
as  to  indicate  all  the  steps  which  changed  the  single 
estate  to  the  community  of  over  lOO  homes. 

The  chapters  immediately  following  will  deal  with 
the  provisions  for  farm  laborers  in  the  Durham  Set- 

io6 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT       107 

tlement,  and  with  the  social  progress  of  the  commun- 
ity through  cooperation. 

As  the  story  unfolds,  it  will  show  how  great  is  the 
difference  between  the  life  of  any  family  in  a  com- 
munity where  each  land  buyer  looks  out  for  himself 
without  a  directing  hand  or  a  common  purpose  and 
the  life  at  Durham  from  June  19 18  to  January  1920. 

The  Durham  Settlement  has  been  able  to  utilize 
the  experience  of  the  Australian  States.  The  former 
chairman  of  the  Victorian  Commission  is  chairman 
of  the  California  Board.  The  superintendent  of  the 
Durham  settlement  had  charge  of  one  of  the  first 
State  Settlements  in  the  irrigated  area  of  Victoria. 
He  brought  back  to  America  a  working  knowledge 
of  what  the  beginner  needs  and  of  the  practical  limits 
to  what  the  State  may  safely  attempt  to  do. 

The  other  members  of  the  board  are  able  business 
men: — Mortimer  Fleishhacker,  also  a  member  of 
the  State  Commission  on  Colonization,  president  of 
the  Anglo  California  Trust  Company  and  one  of 
the  leading  farmers  of  Northern  California;  Ex- 
United  States  Senator  Frank  P.  Flint,  lawyer, 
banker,  and  an  active  force  in  developing  farms  and 
orchards  of  Southern  California;  Prescott  F.  Cogs- 
well, farmer,  banker,  and  former  chairman  of  the 
Agricultural  Committee  of  the  State  Senate;  and 
Judge  B.  F.  Langdon,  lawyer  and  farmer,  who  has 
been  succeeded  by  E.  S.  Wagenhelm,  a  man  of  large 
experience  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  These  men 
knew  from  actual  experience  how  much  it  costs  to 
change  raw  land  into  an  improved  irrigated  farm. 

In  the  appointment  of  this  board.  Governor 
Stephens,  who  is  a  warm  supporter  of  the  policy,  saw 


io8      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

clearly  that  the  first  thing  a  demonstration  had  to  do 
to  win  popular  support  was  to  pay  its  way.  If 
settlers  were  given  any  money  or  if  money  were  lost 
in  the  venture,  state^aid  in  settlement  would  be  short 
lived.  The  Governor,  therefore,  sought  men  who 
knew  how  to  maintain  a  business  undertaking  in  a 
state  of  solvency. 

The  Legislature  advanced  to  the  board  $260,000. 
Of  this,  $10,000  for  preliminary  expenses  is  not  to 
be  repaid;  but  $250,000  is  a  loan  to  be  repaid  in  50 
years  with  4  per  cent,  interest.  With  this  money, 
the  board  bought  6,300  acres  of  land  in  Butte  County 
seven  miles  from  Chico,  a  city  of  18,000,  and  one 
half  mile  from  Durham,  a  station  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  and  Northern  Electric  Railroads.  This 
tract  belonged  to  two  owners,  3,680  acres  to  Stan- 
ford University  and  2,359  ^o  Richard  White.  Butte 
Creek  runs  through  the  property  and  furnishes  water 
for  irrigation.  One  artesian  well  had  been  put  down 
by  Stanford  University.  It  showed  there  was  an 
ample  underground  water  supply  for  irrigation, 
should  it  be  needed. 

The  land  is  bordered  on  the  East  by  foothills 
which  give  summer  pasture.  On  the  West  are  thou- 
sands of  acres  of  almond,  peach,  and  prune  orchards. 
The  cheap  pasture  and  the  demand  for  alfalfa  hay 
by  the  orchardists  made  it  certain  that  dairy  herds 
and  the  growing  of  alfalfa  hay  would  pay. 

This  tract  had  been  part  of  a  Spanish  land  grant. 
For  twenty  years  it  had  been  held  by  non-resident 
owners.  In  all  that  time,  it  had  been  cultivated  by 
tenants  and  hired  labor.  The  improvements  on  the 
White  tract  were  few,  old,  and  out  of  repair.     Those 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT       109 

on  the  Stanford  Ranch  were  good;  but  being  built 
for  an  estate  of  19,000  acres,  were  too  large  and 
costly  to  be  used  as  improvements  for  small  farms. 

There  was  a  rudimentary  ditch  system  on  both 
tracts,  but  it  had  to  be  entirely  rebuilt  to  meet  the 
needs  of  closer  settlement  and  intense  culture.  The 
Stanford  land  could  all  be  irrigated.  It  was  bought 
for  $100  an  acre.  About  1,500  acres  of  the  White 
land  could  be  irrigated.  These  were  bought  for 
$100  an  acre.  For  the  land  which  could  not  be  irri- 
gated, $10  an  acre  was  paid. 

The  Stanford  land  was  bought  on  time.  One 
tenth  the  purchase  price  was  paid  in  cash;  the  re- 
mainder was  to  be  paid  in  equal  semi-annual  pay- 
ments extending  over  twenty  years.  Cash  was  paid 
for  the  White  land.  The  total  cost  of  all  the  land 
was  $542,610. 

When  the  board  had  made  the  first  payment  to 
Stanford  University  and  the  full  payment  for  the 
White  land  and  had  paid  the  expenses  of  the  exam- 
ination of  the  tracts  offered,  there  was  $50,000  of 
the  original  fund  left  with  which  to  finance  the  de- 
velopment. This  would  not  build  the  needed  irri- 
gation works.  More  money  was  required  for  this 
and  for  helping  to  improve  farms.  So  a  loan  of 
$125,000  was  obtained  from  the  Federal  Land  Bank. 
Though  the  loan  was  made  to  an  association  of  set- 
tlers, the  money  was  turned  over  to  the  board.  On 
the  bank  loan,  the  settlers  pay  5>4  per  cent,  interest 
and  have  343/^  years  in  which  to  repay  the  principal. 

The  land  purchased  had  to  be  irrigated.  The 
water  rights  were  as  important  therefore  as  the  deeds 
to  the  land.     They  were  at  that  time  as  chaotic  and 


no      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

uncertain  as  a  land  title  in  Russia.  In  the  absence 
of  any  public  administration  of  streams,  California 
water  rights  have  to  be  settled  by  agreement  or  in 
ordinary  contests  in  the  courts.  For  five  years  Stan- 
ford University  had  been  struggling  to  have  its  rights 
to  Butte  Creek  fixed  by  a  law  suit.  Its  claim  had 
been  contested  and  a  favorable  decision  in  a  lower 
court  had  been  reversed  in  a  higher  court  on  a  tech- 
nicality. After  many  thousands  of  dollars  had  been 
spent  the  rights  were  still  as  uncertain  and  as  far 
from  a  determination  as  they  had  been  five  years 
before.  The  board  could  not  afford  to  assume 
costly  and  continuing  litigation.  It  offered  therefore 
to  buy  the  land  only  if  the  rights  to  water  in  Butte 
Creek  could  be  settled  by  agreement  out  of  court; 
otherwise  it  would  buy  elsewhere.  The  people  of 
Butte  County  wanted  the  Settlement.  They  wanted 
to  see  an  unpeopled  land  dotted  with  homes.  Water 
users  were  anxious  to  end  the  litigation.  The  en- 
trance of  an  outside  influence  tended  to  relieve  the 
friction  that  litigation  had  created;  and  the  board's 
efforts  to  secure  a  quick  settlement  had  the  support 
of  the  attorney  for  the  most  powerful  faction  of 
the  litigants.  The  board  offered  to  cut  the  Stan- 
ford claim  from  250  to  40  cubic  feet  per  second,  if 
all  other  users  would  reduce  their  claims  in  like 
ratio.  On  this  basis  in  two  months  the  conference 
of  water  users  reached  a  final  settlement. 

The  settlement  of  the  rights,  however,  did  not 
ensure  each  irrigator  his  legal  share  of  the  creek's 
water.  Each  diverter  had  his  own  headgate. 
Each,  in  the  past,  had  been  in  the  habit  of  damming 
the  stream  in  summer  without  regard  to  rights  lower 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT       in 

down.  The  diverters  at  the  head  of  the  stream  had, 
therefore,  a  great  advantage.  They  could,  and  of- 
ten did,  take  the  whole  flow  irrespective  of  what  was 
the  result  to  irrigators  below.  This  situation  is 
common  to  all  California  streams  used  in  irrigation. 
The  state  water  law  does  not  provide  for  public  con- 
trol of  streams.  California  is  about  the  only  en- 
lightened irrigated  State  in  the  world  that  still  fol- 
lows the  old  rule  that  he  may  take  who  has  the  power 
and  he  may  keep  who  can. 

In  the  case  of  Butte  Creek,  the  Durham  diversion 
was  below  all  the  others.  As  a  result  no  water 
reached  the  Colony  ditch  headgate  in  mid-summer  in 
19 1 8  when  the  need  for  it  by  the  Durham  settlers 
was  acute.  Irrigators  above  had  thrown  a  half 
dozen  temporary  dams  across  the  streams  and  were 
taking  the  whole  flow,  in  some  cases  wasting  twice 
as  much  as  they  used.  If  Durham  had  been  an  un- 
planned, undirected  settlement,  the  settlers  would 
have  lost  their  crops  and  there  would  have  been  a 
new  series  of  law  suits,  because  no  single  individual 
could  have  protected  his  rights.  The  Settlement, 
backed  by  the  board,  was  able  to  propose  and  carry 
through  a  new  and  better  plan  of  dividing  the  com- 
mon water  supply. 

The  superintendent  called  six  of  the  diverters  into 
a  conference  and  showed  them  the  waste  of  keeping 
up  six  dams  and  having  each  year  renewed  quarrels 
over  their  removal.  He  proposed  that  one  dam  be 
built  for  all;  that  one  man  divide  the  water  when  it 
was  scarce;  that  the  cost  of  this  be  borne  in  propor- 
tion to  the  rights  to  the  flow.  This  was  agreed  to. 
The  dam  has  been  built  under  the  direction  of  the 


112       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

board's  engineers  so  that,  in  future  years,  money  and 
time  will  be  saved  and  ill  feeling  and  continuous 
litigation  will  be  averted. 

The  water  right  troubles  of  the  Durham  Settle- 
ment are  typical.  All  irrigation  development  in 
California  is  harassed  by  chaotic  and  unworkable 
water  laws  which  are  the  inevitable  outcome  of  the 
weakness  that  has  marked  all  dealings  with  water, 
the  most  vital  state  resource.  Difficulties  concerning 
the  use  of  water  can  be  avoided  only  by  a  rational 
system  of  public  control  of  streams.  Every  stream 
from  which  there  is  more  than  one  diverter,  ought  to 
be  under  public  control.  It  should  not  be  left  to  any 
individual  to  determine  how  much  water  he  will  take ; 
for  as  long  as  the  determining  factor  is  individual 
generosity  or  greed,  so  long  will  greed  rule  and 
water  needed  in  some  locahties  will  be  wasted  in 
others.  On  each  stream,  a  State  officer  should  in 
times  of  scarcity,  regulate  diversions  as  he  does  in 
all  of  the  older  irrigated  countries  of  the  world  and 
in  all  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  States. 

A  little  over  5,000  acres  of  the  land  at  Durham 
could  be  irrigated.  A  system  of  ditches  had  to  be 
planned  and  built  to  carry  water  to  each  farm.  On 
each  farm  small  distributing  laterals  about  600  feet 
apart  had  to  be  built.  In  the  banks  of  these  laterals 
concrete  or  wooden  gates  had  to  be  placed  to  let 
water  out  of  the  ditches  to  irrigate  the  fields.  The 
surface  of  the  soil  between  the  laterals  had  to  be 
evened  off  to  a  uniform  slope  and  small  dividing 
ridges  about  50  feet  apart  thrown  up  in  order  to  con- 
fine the  water  let  out  of  the  lateral  ditches  and  enable 
a  crop  to  be  evenly  watered.     If  the  water  supply  is 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT       113 

small,  only  one  strip  Is  watered  at  a  time.  If  there 
is  plenty  of  water,  a  good  irrigator  can  look  after 
the  watering  of  a  dozen  strips  at  a  time. 

The  first  step  in  laying  out  the  irrigation  ditches 
was  to  make  a  contour  survey.  The  contour  map 
of  Durham  shows  all  6  inch  changes  in  elevation. 
From  this  contour  map  the  direction  which  laterals 
and  the  border  ridges  of  fields  should  take  could  be 
seen  and  the  plans  for  watering  laid  out.  The  farms 
were  to  be  fitted  to  the  ditches  like  blocks  to  city 
streets. 

The  slopes  of  the  land  and  the  location  of  ditches 
controlled  the  shape  of  the  Durham  farms  but  not 
their  size.  Variation  in  soil  was  the  governing  fac- 
tor in  fixing  the  price  of  land  and  the  number  of 
acres  in  a  farm.  The  study  and  classification  of 
soils,  a  relatively  new  feature  of  agricultural  science, 
has  been  but  little  used  in  rural  plannings.  The  Cal- 
ifornia Land  Settlement  Act  had,  however,  recog- 
nized its  value  and  soil  studies  had  been  used  in  the 
selection  of  the  land.  The  Act  gave  the  board  the 
privilege  of  calling  In  the  dean  of  the  Agricultural 
College  as  its  expert  adviser  in  this  matter;  and 
through  him  the  board  received  the  valuable  help  of 
the  head  of  Soils  Technology  Division  of  the  State 
University.  The  latter  made  a  soil  map  of  the 
Durham  tract.  This  showed  the  board,  and  later 
the  settlers,  the  land  best  suited  to  grow  grain,  al- 
falfa, fruit,  and  vegetables.  Viewed  from  the  state 
highway,  all  the  Durham  soil  looked  alike,  but  the 
soil  auger  and  later  the  crops  grown  told  a  different 
story. 

American  agriculture  has  been  destructive  of  soil 


114       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

fertility  and  the  American  farmer  has  lost  a  great 
interest  in  his  calling  from  the  lack  of  knowledge  of 
how  the  thin  crust  of  fertile  soil  in  which  plants 
grow  has  been  created.  If  he  knew  the  millions  of 
years  that  it  has  required  to  create  the  vegetable 
matter  and  earth  dust  to  make  the  six  inches  of  good 
soil  that  usually  covers  a  farm  he  would  be  more 
careful  to  preserve  it.  The  soil  reports  of  Pro- 
fessor Shaw  gave  the  Durham  settlers  that  informa- 
tion. To  many  it  opened  up  an  entirely  new  field  of 
thought  and  made  them  watch  the  behavior  of  the 
first  crop  grown  with  keen  interest.  Professor  Shaw 
told  them  that  centuries  ago  this  area  was  a  bed  of 
volcanic  mud.  Butte  Creek,  carrying  the  water,  vol- 
canic ash,  and  sand  from  its  mountain  watershed, 
emptied  its  flow  into  this  mud  flat  at  the  north  end. 
The  water  and  silt  spread  out  over  Its  surface,  build- 
ing up  a  deltaic  fan  of  sediment  which  had  thickened, 
widened,  and  lengthened  with  years.  The  greater 
part  of  the  Durham  area  is  in  this  sedimentary  fan, 
but  on  the  southeast  side  it  goes  beyond  it.  The 
upper  part  of  the  tract  is  therefore  a  silt  soil,  the 
lower  part  is  adobe.  When,  about  40  years  ago, 
Senator  Stanford  bought  the  land,  Butte  Creek  was 
shifting  its  channel  each  year  and  still  emptied  its 
floods  over  this  mud  flat.  The  whole  area  was 
usually  flooded  during  the  winter  and  spring  rains. 
This  made  the  land  fit  for  little  but  grazing.  Stan- 
ford confined  the  creek  to  its  present  channel  by  wide 
strong  levees  and  turned  much  of  the  area  into  grain 
fields. 

The  soil  map  showed  that  about  1,200  acres  of 
the  land  is  adobe,  about  half  is  silt  loam,  and  the 


I 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT      115 

remainder  varies  between  clay  and  sandy  loams. 
There  are  strips  of  sandy  land  showing  old  creek 
channels,  there  are  areas  where  the  silt  deposit  is  six 
feet  thick,  and  there  are  others  where  it  thins  out 
to  six  inches.  The  adobe  land  grows  fine  grain,  but 
it  is  not  good  for  orchards  or  gardens.  The  silt  soil 
would  grow  about  anything  which  can  be  grown  in 
California.  Ten  tons  of  alfalfa  were  grown  on  some 
of  the  settlers'  farms  the  first  year. 

To  cultivate  the  grain  land,  a  settler  would  need 
four  horses,  a  harvester,  and  strong  plows.  To 
make  the  purchase  and  maintenance  of  this  costly 
equipment  pay,  he  would  have  to  have  a  large  farm. 
On  the  silt  soil,  the  settler  could  cut  five  crops  of 
alfalfa;  he  could  grow  two  cultivated  crops  each 
year;  he  could  in  time  have  an  orchard.  Here  a 
small  farm  would  pay.  On  from  twenty  to  forty 
acres,  a  good  sized  family  could  be  kept  busy.  The 
soil  map  therefore  fixed  the  size  of  farms,  helped 
settlers  select  farms,  and  served  as  a  guide  to  cultiva- 
tion. It  was  used  also  in  fixing  the  value  of  the  land 
and  the  acreage  price  which  would  be  charged. 
With  it  as  a  guide,  the  land  was  divided  into  farms 
which  vary  in  size  from  9  to  300  acres  and  in  value 
from  $48.50  an  acre  to  $235  an  acre. 

So  wide  a  variation  in  prices  had  never  before 
been  seen  in  an  American  colony,  but  so  well  were 
the  Durham  prices  adjusted  to  settlers'  ideas  of 
values  that  every  farm  was  the  first  choice  of  some 
person. 

While  surveyors  contoured  the  surface  and  soil 
experts  mapped  what  lay  beneath  the  surface,  the 
board  made  the  Stanford  land  ready  for  settlement. 


ii6       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

It  hired  and  bought  teams  and  implements  and  put 
them  to  work  leveling  and  seeding  some  land  to  al- 
falfa and  plowing  and  planting  other  land  to  grain. 
It  secured  a  foreman  who  is  an  expert  at  preparing 
fields  for  irrigation.  When  in  May,  191 8,  the 
water  right  agreement  had  been  signed,  the  soil  map 
completed,  and  the  farm  boundaries  fixed,  the  board 
had  spent  nearly  $30,000  preparing  land  and  putting 
in  crops.  It  was  able  to  offer  settlers  ready  made 
farms.  On  some  of  these  one  crop  of  alfalfa  had 
been  cut  and  three  others  could  be  cut  before  the 
season's  end.     On  others  grain  crops  were  ripening. 

Farms  with  growing  crops  looked  good  to  ex- 
perienced settlers.  There  was  an  income  in  sight. 
When  they  looked  at  the  grain  and  alfalfa  fields, 
they  saw  feed  for  their  stock.  They  saw  money 
coming  in  to  help  meet  the  large  expenses  for  im- 
provements. On  the  land  made  ready  for  irriga- 
tion, they  could  begin  to  farm;  that  is,  to  do  the  kind 
of  work  they  understood  and  enjoyed  doing.  Pre- 
paring land  for  irrigation  is  the  work  not  of  a  farmer 
but  of  an  engineer.  Leveling  fields  and  throwing 
up  borders  require  a  knack  and  a  skill  gained  only 
by  long  experience ;  the  work  can  be  done  cheaply  and 
well  only  by  an  outfit  of  teams  and  implements  that 
the  small  farmer  cannot  afford.  To  get  farms  with 
all  or  even  a  part  of  this  preparatory  work  done  was 
such  a  great  boon  to  settlers  that  the  improved  farms 
were  always  the  first  choice. 

Settlers  were  glad  to  pay  for  this  leveling  and 
planting.  If  the  land  were  seeded  to  grain,  the  full 
cost  was  paid  in  cash  or  when  the  crop  was  sold.     If 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT       117 

the  land  were  ditched,  leveled,  and  seeded  to  alfalfa, 
the  settler  paid  40  per  cent,  of  the  cost  in  cash  and 
was  given  20  years  in  which  to  pay  the  remainder. 

Some  of  the  land  had  been  leased  before  the  board 
purchased  it.  The  leases  did  not  expire  until  Sep- 
tember so  that  the  farms  could  not  be  allotted  to 
settlers  before  November.  That  was  too  late  for 
them  to  put  in  a  grain  crop,  so  the  board  put  in  the 
crop  before  offering  the  land  for  sale.  To  do  this, 
it  bought  a  75  horsepower  Best  Tractor,  a  plow, 
strong  and  heavy  enough  to  rip  up  the  hardest  soil, 
a  power  leveler,  and  a  large  part  of  the  Stanford  out- 
fit of  horses  and  mules;  and  it  then  hired  about  100 
teams  from  contractors.  With  this  force,  it  built 
ditches  and  leveled  and  seeded  land.  Before  the 
land  was  allotted  in  November  nearly  2,000  acres 
had  been  seeded. 

When  the  board  looked  into  the  question  of  what 
was  needed  to  make  the  new  farms  an  opportunity 
rather  than  a  temptation,  they  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  chief  factor  was  the  selection  of  the 
settlers.  The  board  realized  that  success  would  be 
impossible  if  men  who  did  not  have  a  real  hking  for 
farm  life  and  a  willingness  to  do  the  necessary  work 
were  permitted  to  become  settlers.  It  therefore 
spared  no  effort  in  finding  out  the  plans  of  those 
seeking  land  and  learning  whether  they  were  qualified 
to  succeed.  The  results  of  the  first  year  at  Dur- 
ham have  shown  clearly  that  the  restrictions  of  the 
future  should  be  even  more  severe,  that  the  settler 
with  small  capital  must  be  fully  quahfied  by  experi- 
ence.    More  care  will  be  taken  in  the  future  to  find 


ii8       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

out  what  applicants  have  done  and  whether  they  have 
had  any  training  in  the  kind  of  agriculture  that  must 
be  followed  on  the  land  to  be  sold. 

When  the  farms  of  the  first  and  second  units  were 
ready  for  settlement,  notice  was  given  by  the  press 
and  by  post  card  to  those  who  had  applied  for  farms. 
Thirty  days  were  given  for  inspection.  All  appli- 
cations received  up  to  the  closing  hour  were  put  on 
an  equal  footing. 

Each  person  who  applied  for  a  farm  filled  out  a 
blank  form  which  was  prepared  to  show  what  had 
been  his  past  experience.  In  it,  the  applicant 
stated  his  capital  and  told  his  plans  for  improving 
and  cultivating  the  farm.  If  he  wanted  help,  he 
gave  the  amount  and  kind  of  aid  desired.  Before 
the  board  came  to  deal  with  these  applications,  many 
who  had  prepared  them  had  talked  with  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  colony  or  the  chairman  of  the  board. 
When  there  were  several  applicants  for  the  same 
farm,  the  board  met  them  and  was  able,  as  a  rule, 
to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  their  judgment,  experi- 
ence, and  industry. 

In  dealing  with  applicants,  the  board  was  always 
careful  not  to  make  the  prospects  too  rosy.  They 
told  each  one  that  the  outlay  would  be  large;  that  the 
settlers  would  have  to  work  hard  for  the  first  two  or 
three  years  in  order  to  succeed;  that  the  profits  of 
farming  were  small;  and  that  the  beginner  would 
have  to  face  certain  hardships  and  trials.  This  was 
done  to  weed  out  the  over-sanguine  and  to  prevent 
those  who  did  not  realize  how  much  it  would  cost  to 
improve  a  small  farm,  from  beginning  something 
they  could  not  finish. 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT      119 

It  is  the  board's  view  that  no  one  should  attempt 
to  pay  for  a  farm  unless  he  has  a  little  of  both  money 
and  experience.  It  does  not  ask  that  he  have  much 
money,  as  the  main  object  of  the  act  is  to  provide 
land  for  men  who,  without  its  help,  would  not  be  able 
to  buy  farms  at  all.  But  to  attempt  to  pay  interest 
on  the  whole  cost  of  a  farm  is  to  impose  a  burden 
heavier  than  the  profits  of  agriculture  on  a  new 
farm  will  stand  and  heavier  than  most  families  will 
carry.  The  board  has  ruled,  therefore,  that  each 
settler  should  have  from  $1,500  to  $2,500  of  his 
own. 

All  farms  in  the  second  unit  were  applied  for;  and 
for  many  of  them  there  were  from  four  to  nine  ap- 
plicants. Most  of  the  farms  were  sold  to  men  who 
had  been  tenant  farmers.  These  men  had  the  neces- 
sary equipment.  If  they  did  not  get  homes  in  this 
settlement,  they  would  remain  tenants  because  they 
lacked  capital  to  buy  elsewhere. 

As  there  were  more  people  than  farms,  some  had 
to  be  disappointed.  A  few  knew  without  explana- 
tion why  they  were  not  chosen.  Others  were  told 
frankly.  One  of  the  hardest  tasks  was  to  reject 
young  men  who  wanted  to  marry  and  start  for 
themselves.  The  board  tried  to  make  all  applicants 
realize  that.it  treated  them  with  fairness  and  candor. 
The  result  was  an  entire  absence  of  resentment  or 
ill  feeling.  The  friends  of  the  Act  who  expected  or 
feared  that  there  would  be  an  outcry  of  favoritism, 
or  that  political  pressure  would  be  exerted,  had  a 
pleasant  surprise. 

The  plan  followed  at  Durham  is  far  more  intelli- 
gent and  democratic  than  the  plans  of  the  United 


I20      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

States  Government,  and  It  has  given  better  results. 
The  United  States  Government  has  thus  far  made 
no  scrutiny  of  the  qualifications  of  applicants  for  pub- 
lic land.  It  followed  the  rule  of  first  come,  first 
served,  regardless  of  merit.  Later  when  the  num- 
ber of  applicants  became  too  great  for  this  rule  to 
be  retained,  lands  were  granted  by  lot  irrespective  of 
whether  the  applicants  were  capable  or  not. 

Few  realize  how  much  money  has  to  be  spent  to 
improve  and  develop  an  irrigated  farm.  To  level 
the  land  and  throw  up  the  borders  for  irrigation  at 
Durham  has  cost  from  $25  to  $83  an  acre.  This  Is 
greater  than  the  price  at  which  many  an  improved 
farm  can  be  purchased  in  the  East  and  South.  To 
the  cost  of  preparing  land  for  irrigation  must  be 
added  the  outlay  for  house,  barn,  fences,  live-stock, 
and  Implements. 

Every  settler  at  Durham  made  out  a  list  of  the 
things  he  needed  and  their  cost.  It  was  pointed  out 
that  the  board  could  lend  only  $3,000  to  any  settler. 
The  rest  of  the  money  must  come  from  the  settler's 
funds.  As  the  board  had  a  prior  lien  on  the  land 
and  on  any  improvements  made  with  money  it  ad- 
vanced, the  settler  would  have  no  commercial  security 
to  offer  for  outside  loans.  He  had  to  possess,  there- 
fore, enough  capital  to  improve  and  equip  his  farm 
with  the  help  of  the  board's  $3,000.  If  he  lacked 
the  necessary  capital,  he  would  likely  fail.  No  set- 
tler has  been  able  to  show  on  paper  how  he  could 
Improve  and  equip  a  30  or  40  acre  farm  for  less  than 
$4,500.  No  one  has  been  able  to  do  it  thus  far  for 
$5,000.  Most  of  the  costs  run  from  $6,000  to 
$8,000.     War  prices  have  made  the  actual  expenses 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT       121 

at  Durham  heavier  than  they  were  a  few  years  ago. 
In  the  Australian  States,  where  land  is  far  cheaper 
and  wages  are  lower,  settlers  are  told  they  must 
have  from  $1,500  to  $2,500;  and  in  Denmark  and 
Ireland  experience  shows  that  settlers  need  more 
capital  than  before  the  war. 

Some  of  the  Durham  settlers  were  accepted  with 
the  minimum  capital  of  $1,500;  some  had  $10,000; 
the  average  capital  of  settlers  was  in  round  num- 
bers $4,500  in  money,  and  over  $6,000  in  money 
and  other  assets.  In  a  number  of  cases  the  assets 
could  not  be  utilized  as  they  were  town  lots  unim- 
proved, not  bringing  in  any  income,  and  not  readily 
saleable.  In  nearly  every  instance  settlers  have 
stated  that  without  the  opportunity  presented  at 
Durham  it  would  have  been  absolutely  impossible 
for  them  to  undertake  becoming  farm  owners.  They 
were  afraid  to  buy  under  the  conditions  of  private 
colonization. 

A  feature  of  the  Durham  development  has  been 
the  help  given  to  settlers  in  planning  and  building 
their  houses  and  other  farm  buildings.  This  work 
has  been  directed  by  an  architect  and  farm  engineer 
who  helped  to  survey  the  farms,  studied  the  area,  and 
prepared  plans  for  the  houses  of  some  of  the  intend- 
ing settlers  before  the  land  was  sold.  He  had  a 
matured  scheme  of  improvement,  therefore,  when 
the  first  house  was  located.  After  the  different 
farms  had  been  granted,  he  helped  the  owners  to 
locate  the  different  buildings  and  to  prepare  work- 
ing plans  for  improvements.  There  is  a  working 
plan  for  each  Durham  farm. 

Thinking  out  in  advance  the  division  of  each  of 


122      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

the  farms  into  fields,  the  rotation  of  crops,  the  loca- 
tion of  house  and  barn,  and  thus  trying  to  visualize 
what  the  coming  years  were  to  create,  gave  to  the 
settlers  a  new  enthusiasm  in  their  undertaking. 
Furthermore,  there  was  to  be  a  community  center 
and  a  social  hall.  In  talking  with  each  other  and 
with  the  Farmstead  Engineer,  the  settlers  began  to 
conceive  of  their  farms  as  part  of  a  large  coordi- 
nated and  effective  scheme.  For  the  first  3  or  4 
months  after  settlement,  the  Farmstead  Engineer 
was  an  exceedingly  busy  and  very  useful  person.  He 
was  the  "  Father  Confessor  "  of  the  settler  in  farm 
planning  and  of  the  settler's  wife  in  house  planning. 
His  days  were  spent  in  conferences  and  his  nights  in 
trying  to  put  what  had  been  agreed  upon  into  definite 
plans  and  estimates.  It  soon  became  apparent  that 
he  would  have  to  have  help  if  the  homes  were  to  be 
completed  before  the  rainless  summer  of  California 
came  to  an  end.  It  was  war  time  and  most  of  the 
engineers  and  draftsmen  were  in  the  service.  An 
appeal  had  to  be  made  to  the  State  Engineer  for 
architectural  help  from  his  ofiSce. 

Through  State  Engineer  McClure's  sympathetic 
interest  one  of  the  architects  from  his  staff  was  per- 
mitted to  come  to  Durham.  This  architect  had  an 
unusual  talent  for  house  planning  and  for  showing 
how  good  taste  could  be  made  to  cost  no  more  than 
poor  taste.  The  illustrations  of  the  settlers'  homes 
given  elsewhere  show  how  much  rural  life  gained  at 
Durham  by  the  tact,  skill,  and  interest  of  Mr.  Cook, 
the  Board's  Farmstead  Engineer,  and  of  Mr.  W.  E. 
Backus,  the  assistant  from  the  State  Engineer's  office. 

To  build  over  100  houses  in  a  short  time  was  not, 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT       123 

however,  the  task  of  two  men.  Extra  draftsmen 
had  to  be  employed.  Materials  for  buildings, 
fences,  and  irrigation  structures  were  bought  by  the 
board  for  settlers  in  carload  lots.  For  these  cash 
was  paid  at  wholesale  prices.  The  farms  were  im- 
proved, the  houses  built  with  far  less  expense,  effort, 
and  time  than  would  have  been  required  if  each 
settler  had  been  left  to  shift  for  himself  and  deal 
with  his  problems  without  organization  or  advice. 

There  is  nothing  which  adds  more  to  the  attrac- 
tiveness of  a  farm  than  a  comfortable  house  and  a 
well  planned  garden  and  orchard;  and  there  is  no 
place  where  expert  advice  can  be  used  to  better  ad- 
vantage than  in  the  location  of  these  Improvements. 
The  usual  plan  had  been  for  farmers  to  build  their 
houses  a  few  feet  from  the  country  road,  but  this 
practice  was  ignored  at  Durham.  There  were 
much  criticism  and  curiosity  when  many  of  the 
homes  were  located  in  the  centers  of  the  farms. 

The  tact  and  experience  of  both  architects  was 
needed  in  curbing  the  enthusiasm  of  some  settlers 
who  were  inclined  to  spend  too  much  of  their  capital 
on  the  home  and  in  preventing  others  from  putting 
up  shacks  which  would  lack  both  comfort  and  con- 
venience. One  settler  with  $5,000  had  to  be 
reasoned  with  in  a  number  of  conferences  before  he 
would  forego  spending  between  $3,000  and  $4,000 
of  his  capital  on  the  house.  Left  to  decide  these 
matters  for  themselves,  it  is  certain  that  some  of  the 
settlers  would  have  made  grave  mistakes  by  spend- 
ing too  much  money  or  too  little;  and  while  they 
were  deciding  what  should  be  done  and  trying  to 
arrange  for  the  material  and  help  needed,  pressing 


124      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

farm  work  would  have  had  to  be  put  aside.  Many 
of  the  crops  grown  by  settlers  in  191 8  would  not 
have  been  planted  and  much  of  the  material  needed 
would  have  remained  unpurchased,  if  the  settlers 
had  been  left  to  themselves.  The  board  looking 
forward  to  their  needs  had  bought  early  and  secured 
the  last  carload  of  fencing  wire  that  was  to  be  had 
in  northern  California.  Because  trained  minds  gave 
to  the  settlers  the  help  of  all  that  had  been  learned 
about  rural  home  planning,  the  housing  scheme  at 
Durham  presents  a  picture  of  rural  comfort  and 
beauty  not  often  equaled  in  old  settlements. 

The  health  of  the  Durham  people  had  early  atten- 
tion. Some  of  the  irrigated  areas  in  California 
had  been  menaced  by  malaria.  This  has  been  in- 
creased by  the  large  number  of  alien  peoples  who 
work  in  country  districts  either  as  tenants  or  farm 
laborers.  The  progress  of  some  sections  and  the 
vigor  and  well  being  of  the  people  have  been  impaired 
by  failure  to  deal  promptly  with  malarial  conditions. 

The  state  health  organization  rests  on  the  district 
system  and  it  may  or  may  not  be  put  in  operation  at 
the  will  of  the  local  authorities.  In  any  case,  local 
interest  and  support  are  needed  because  a  single 
health  officer  in  California  often  has  an  area  larger 
than  the  combined  territory  of  several  New  England 
States. 

In  order  to  combat  malarial  troubles,  the  State 
passed  a  law  under  which  the  county  supervisors  can 
create  mosquito  abatement  districts.  If  these  are 
created,  an  officer  is  appointed  to  remove  the  breed- 
ing places  of  the  mosquito  and  other  sources  of 
infection. 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT      125 

Since  there  was  no  such  district  in  Butte  County, 
Prof.  W.  B.  Herms  of  the  University  of  California 
was  asked  to  report  on  whether  any  action  should 
be  taken.  His  report  stated  that  if  nothing  were 
done,  the  irrigation  and  closer  settlement  of  this 
area  would  likely  be  followed  by  malarial  troubles, 
but  that  if  the  breeding  places  of  the  mosquito  were 
destroyed  and  the  houses  properly  screened,  this  dan- 
ger would  be  averted.  Professor  Herms  outlined 
the  boundaries  of  a  mosquito  abatement  district 
needed  to  protect  Durham  and  it  was  created  by  the 
Board  of  Supervisors.  The  salary  of  the  district 
officer  and  the  expenses  of  draining  and  oiling  breed- 
ing grounds  are  paid  by  a  tax  on  the  property  in  the 
district.  No  objection  was  offered  to  the  plan  from 
the  property  owners  outside  of  Durham  who  were 
included  in  the  district. 

Soon  after  settlement,  a  blood  test  was  taken  of 
every  person  in  the  colony.  Only  one  had  malaria. 
The  breeding  places  of  the  mosquito  were  sought  out 
and  removed.  The  doors  and  windows  of  all  houses 
have  been  screened  and  constant  oversight  is  exer- 
cised to  see  that  stagnant  water  is  not  permitted 
around  the  homes.  The  cost  of  these  preventive 
measures  has  been  small  compared  with  the  gain, 
and  the  complete  freedom  from  this  disease  has 
had  a  marked  influence  on  public  opinion  throughout 
the  Sacramento  Valley. 

The  district  has  received  numerous  inquiries 
about  the  preventive  measures  and  their  cost  from 
people  of  other  sections,  who  are  now  showing  their 
approval  by  the  creation  of  other  districts. 

Recently  the  settlement  was  visited  by  Dr.  F.  L. 


126      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Hoffman,  statistician  of  the  Prudential  Life  Insur- 
ance Company  and  one  of  the  leading  health  author- 
ities of  this  country.  In  a  plan  for  a  more  effective 
federal  and  state  health  administration,  Dr.  Hoff- 
man has  the  following  to  say  about  the  Durham 
experiment : 

"  In  no  other  State  therefore,  it  would  seem,  are  the  con- 
ditions more  ideal  than  in  California  to  justify  the  under- 
taking of  a  thoroughly  reorganized  State  Health  Administra- 
tion on  the  basis  of  new  principles  and  inclusive  of  new  func- 
tions essential  to  the  attainment  of  decidedly  better  results. 
No  State  is  more  progressive  and  more  wilHng  to  meet  the 
required  expense  to  attain  the  highest  ideas  in  the  proper 
sphere  and  function  of  every  branch  of  the  state  government. 
Cahfornia  has  three  great  universities,  adequate  medical 
schools  and  clinical  facilities,  and  numerous  well-managed 
public  institutions,  all  useful  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  a 
thoroughly  well-worked-out  plan  for  a  modernized  health 
administration  such  as  is  here  proposed. 

"  How  much  has  been  achieved  within  a  comparatively 
short  period  of  time  is  best  illustrated  by  the  gratifying  suc- 
cess of  the  State  Land  Colony  at  Durham,  which  in  practi- 
cally all  the  details  of  its  administration  rests  upon  the  scien- 
tific advisory  assistance  of  the  University  of  California. 
This  work  has  been  carried  forward  to  such  a  successful 
termination  that  it  gives  every  promise  of  serving  as  a  model 
to  other  sections  of  the  country,  even  though  the  plan  may 
not  prove  feasible  of  universal  adoption.  What  has  thus 
been  achieved  in  the  realm  of  agriculture  should  be  equally 
possible  in  connection  with  efforts  to  improve  health  and 
physical  well-being.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  executive 
officers  of  the  State  Land  Colony  will  see  their  way  clear  to 
initiate  a  practical  method  of  health  supervision,  including 
physical  examinations,  medical  assistance  and  institutional 
treatment  in  conformity  to  all  the  knowledge  available  on 


CALIFORNIA'S  SETTLEMENT      127 

these  subjects  at  the  present  time.  If  this  suggestion  could 
be  adopted  the  State  Land  Colony  would  only  carry  into 
further  practical  execution  the  method  so  successfully  worked 
out  in  behalf  of  the  students  of  the  University  of  California, 
who  for  more  than  six  years  past  have  been  under  qualified 
medical  supervision,  which  has  been  provided  for  at  minimum 
expense,  and  without  the  pretense  of  social  insurance,  includ- 
ing all  that  must  be  considered  essential  to  reasonable  medical 
or  surgical  needs." 

During  19 19  the  Cooperative  Live  Stock  Asso- 
ciation of  the  Durham  Colony  employed  a  veterinary 
surgeon  to  look  after  the  health  of  the  cattle,  hogs, 
and  sheep  of  the  settlement.  The  results  were  so 
satisfactory  that  plans  are  being  worked  out  to  make 
this  a  permanent  arrangement. 


CHAPTER  IX 

AID  TO  FARM  LABORERS  IN  THE  DURHAM 
SETTLEMENT 

A  RECENT  number  of  a  leading  farm  journal  *  had 
an  article  by  a  farmer  on  "  Hired  Men  I  Have 
Known,"  It  described  "  six  familiar  varieties," 
only  one  of  them  good.  The  other  five  either  did 
not  know  how  farm  work  should  be  done  or  did  not 
have  any  interest  in  the  farm  and  its  success.  The 
story  of  this  farmer's  trials  showed  the  worry,  irri- 
tation, and  loss  that  are  now  a  part  of  the  typical 
farmer's  lot  because  of  the  lack  of  trained  and  loyal 
farm  workers.  He  complains  that  the  typical  hired 
man  is  asking  higher  wages  than  the  profits  of  farm- 
ing will  stand;  that  he  strikes  for  higher  wages 
whenever  there  is  a  pinch  in  farm  work;  that  he 
leaves  without  warning  or  cause  whenever  the  im- 
pulse to  seek  greener  fields  or  whiter  lights  seizes 
him.  These  things  are  making  it  more  and  more 
risky  for  farmers  to  engage  in  the  kind  of  agriculture 
which  needs  dependable,  intelligent  help.  The 
farmer  with  the  large  dairy  herd  is  liable  to  lose 
cows  for  lack  of  help  to  milk  them.  The  farmer 
growing  high  priced  crops  is  likely  to  confront  a 
strike  when  he  must  have  help  no  matter  what  it 
costs.     The  friendly,  helpful  relation  which  once  ex- 

1  The  Country  Gentleman,  Sept.  13,  1919. 

128 


THE  DURHAM  SETTLEMENT     129 

Isted  between  the  farmer  and  the  hired  man  is  gone. 
On  both  sides  there  is  unrest  and  call  for  a  change. 
It  is  becoming  harder  and  harder  for  farmers  to  get 
men  with  the  patience,  industry,  and  brains  needed 
to  do  farm  work  as  it  should  be  done ;  therefore  many 
well-to-do  farmers  go  to  the  city  and  turn  their  lands 
over  to  tenants. 

The  hired  man's  side  of  the  question  is  not  so  well 
known.  He  does  not  attend  conventions  or  state  his 
case  in  the  press.  But  even  without  his  testimony, 
certain  facts  stand  out  as  ample  causes  for  his  lack 
of  interest  in  rural  life  and  his  desire  to  get  away 
from  it.  His  grievances  are  that  he  sleeps  in  a  bunk 
house,  often  ill  kept  and  dirty;  that  the  food  is  poor; 
that  he  has  no  amusements  or  recreations;  that  he 
is  often  ill  treated;  that  he  has  no  social  status  and 
no  part  in  the  community  life.  These  are  hurts  to 
the  pride  and  self  respect  that  the  type  of  laborer 
the  farm  needs  will  not  endure.  The  work  of  the 
farm  is  not  planned  to  give  constant  employment  and 
when  it  stops  the  laborer  has  to  migrate  or  starve. 
There  is  no  chance  for  him  to  have  a  home  and  gar- 
den of  his  own  and  thus  be  able  to  marry  and  have 
children  and  bring  them  up  to  be  contented  self- 
respecting  people  of  the  future.  His  life  and  its 
prospects  have  grown  steadily  worse  while  the  lot 
of  the  factory  worker  in  the  city  has  grown  steadily 
better.  As  a  result,  the  American  farm  worker  is 
disappearing.  He  has  moved  to  the  city  where  he 
can  have  a  comfortable  home,  where  his  children 
can  be  educated  at  the  public  expense,  and  where  he 
is  treated  with  respect  and  consideration. 

A  recent  survey  of  labor  conditions  in  California 


I30       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

made  by  the  State  Immigration  and  Housing  Com- 
mission showed  that  60  per  cent,  of  the  seasonable 
laborers  on  ranches  was  migratory  and  40  per  cent, 
local;  that  there  was  only  a  sprinkling  of  the  white 
race  among  the  farm  workers,  the  remainder  being 
aliens, —  Japanese,  Chinese,  Hindoos,  Portuguese, 
Armenians,  Italians,  and  Mexicans.  The  white  peo- 
ple are  discontented.  They  join  the  I.  W.  W. 
rather  than  the  Federation  of  Labor.  Their  actions 
and  frame  of  mind  have  grown  out  of  the  feeling  that 
they  are  struggling  against  unfair  conditions,  that 
their  employers  have  a  deep  seated  prejudice  against 
the  whites  as  employees.  Meanwhile  the  Japanese 
and  the  Hindoo  farm  colonies  are  becoming  larger. 
Communities  are  becoming  affected  by  the  institutions 
of  these  aliens  and  are  taking  on  their  form  of  living 
and  civilization. 

As  land  prices  rise,  as  farmers  use  more  costly 
and  complicated  machinery,  as  scrub  stock  is  replaced 
by  pure  breeds,  there  will  be  a  growing  need  for  care- 
ful, loyal,  skillful  farm  workers.  The  time  has 
come  when  the  farm  worker  ought  to  be  specially 
trained.  He  must  be  so  trained  if  he  is  to  prune, 
spray,  and  market  the  produce  of  orchards,  grow 
high  priced  field  crops,  and  save  the  farmer  unending 
worry  in  the  management  of  valuable  live-stock. 
To-day  the  farmer  who  wants  to  deal  with  the  hired 
man  as  a  human  being  and  to  help  meet  his  social 
and  other  needs,  cannot  find  or  hold  capable  men. 

It  was  not  always  so.  A  half  century  ago,  the 
white  farm  laborers  of  this  country  were  almost 
always  Americans,  Their  pride  in  the  farm  where 
they  worked  and  their  loyalty  to  its  interests  were 


THE  DURHAM  SETTLEMENT     131 

taken  as  a  matter  of  course.  There  were  no  strikes 
in  harvest  times,  no  collective  bargaining;  in  hot 
weather  and  cold,  early  and  late,  they  did  the  work 
on  the  farm.  They  were  not  coddled  and  did  not 
expect  to  be,  but  they  then  had  a  part  in  the  social 
life  of  the  country  neighborhood.  The  unmarried 
laborer  went  with  the  farmer's  family  to  the  country 
church  or  Sunday  school,  had  a  room  in  the  farmer's 
house,  and  usually  ate  with  the  farmer's  family.  He 
had  reason  to  have  pride  and  self  respect  in  his  place 
and  in  his  work.  The  present  unrest  and  lack  of 
interest  began  when  the  worker  ceased  to  have  a 
social  status.  The  old  way  of  living  will  not  return. 
The  present  situation  cannot  continue.  It  will  grow 
better  or  worse.  The  nation  has  here  a  problem  to 
solve ;  a  new  pohcy  must  be  adopted.  Two  remedies 
are  proposed. 

One  is  to  import  servile  aliens,  either  people  from 
southern  Europe,  or  men  from  the  Orient.  "  What 
we  want,"  said  a  speaker  at  a  meeting  called  to  con- 
sider this  problem,  "  is  men,  weak  in  the  head  and 
strong  in  the  knees."  About  5,000  farm  workers 
came  in  from  Mexico  last  year  under  an  agreement 
by  which  they  were  to  cross  the  border  in  the  spring 
and  go  back  in  the  autumn.  An  effort  is  being  made 
to  secure  a  law  from  Congress  under  which  a  million 
Chinese  farm  workers  could  be  brought  in  and  as 
alternatives  attention  is  called  to  the  surplus  labor 
of  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippines.  The  objection 
to  this  policy  is  that  it  is  not  democratic.  It  means, 
the  degradation  of  labor;  the  creation  of  country 
slums;  the  lowering  instead  of  the  raising  of  rural 
civilization. 


132      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  other  remedy  Is  to  give  the  man  who  works 
for  wages  a  comfortable  and  respected  place  in  the 
country  neighborhood.  This  is  the  plan  that  has 
been  adopted  in  Western  Europe  and  Australia.  It 
is  the  plan  being  tried  out  in  the  California  settle- 
ment at  Durham. 

Denmark  began  buying  small  tracts  of  land  as 
homes  for  farm  laborers.  The  success  of  that  move- 
ment led  to  helping  poor  men  become  farm  owners. 
The  French  Government  ties  the  farm  worker  to  the 
soil  by  giving  a  long  time  loan  of  $i,6oo  at  2  per 
cent,  interest  to  buy  the  little  patch  of  land  on 
which  he  and  his  family  have  their  home. 

In  the  seven  years  from  1907  to  the  outbreak  of 
the  war,  England  had  helped  17,000  farm  laborers 
to  become  owners  or  life  lessees  of  the  land  on  which 
their  homes  were  built.  There  were  applications 
from  7,000  others.  At  first,  it  was  a  local  move- 
ment; now  it  is  a  national  purpose,  a  part  of  the  legis- 
lation to  provide  homes  for  soldiers. 

Any  rural  neighborhood  needs  something  besides 
farms  and  farm  owners.  There  is  need  of  carpen- 
ters and  blacksmiths.  A  skilled  irrigator  is  a  boon 
to  hard  worked  farmers.  Pedro,  the  best  irrigator 
at  Durham,  complained  that  he  had  to  leave  the  set- 
tlement to  get  time  to  sleep.  The  need  for  expert 
mechanics  in  these  days  of  farm  tractors  and  auto- 
mobiles is  as  great  in  a  country  neighborhood  as  in 
a  town.  It  is  also  a  mistake  to  regard  farming  as 
an  uneducated  and  unskilled  calling.  In  no  other 
industry  does  the  interest,  skill,  and  knowledge  of  the 
individual  worker  count  for  more.  Failure  to  rec- 
oginize  and  reward  the  competent  farm  worker  as  he 


THE  DURHAM  SETTLEMENT      133 

should  be  is  the  cause  of  some  of  our  most  serious 
agricultural  troubles.  As  long  as  millions  of  men 
and  women  are  working  on  farms  for  wages  and  must 
so  work  in  the  future,  it  is  a  social  and  economic  mis- 
take to  ignore  their  existence.  Farm  workers  with 
brains  and  skill  are  as  much  needed  in  the  country  as 
farm  owners;  and  it  is  only  false  sentiment  that  re- 
gards any  kind  of  skillful,  useful  labor  as  humiliating 
or  causes  workers  so  to  regard  it. 

There  are  more  children  in  the  homes  of  farm 
workers  than  in  the  homes  of  farm  owners.  If  the 
children  of  workers  grow  up  feeling  that  their  par- 
ents are  useful  and  respected,  if  they  live  in  comfort- 
able homes,  they  will  grow  up  loving  the  country 
for  what  it  has  done  for  them,  and  as  voters,  will  be 
a  source  of  strength  to  the  nation.  If  the  self- 
respecting  intelligent  American  farm  workers  are 
driven  from  the  country  and  replaced  by  people  who 
have  no  social  pride  and  no  interest  in  public  ques- 
tions, then  the  rural  voter  of  the  future  will  be  a 
national  danger. 

Every  reason  that  has  led  the  progressive  nations 
of  the  world  to  enable  farmers  to  own  land  makes 
it  worth  while  to  enable  the  rural  worker  to  own  his 
home.  The  plan  followed  in  California  —  that  of 
selling  workers'  allotments  on  the  same  terms  as 
those  on  which  farms  were  sold  and  lending  workers 
money  enough  to  make  good  improvements  — 
showed  that  the  State  looked  on  farm  laborers  as  a 
worthy  and  solvent  part  of  its  rural  life.  Far  from 
being  a  humiliation,  the  plan  showed  a  respect  and 
regard  which  the  farm  worker  appreciated. 

The  fact  that  during  the  first  two  years  of  the 


134       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Danish  law,  the  farm  workers  were  afraid  of  it, 
believing  that  it  was  a  movement  to  tie  them  to  the 
soil  and  constrain  them  to  take  whatever  wages 
farmers  would  offer,  led  some  to  fear  that  there 
might  be  a  like  distrust  in  Califormia.  Those  who 
applied  for  farms  feared  that  there  would  not  be 
enough  Americans  willing  to  buy  allotments  and 
that  they  would  in  time  be  given  to  aliens  who  would 
not  fit  into  the  social  life  of  the  community.  There 
was  some  reason  for  this  apprehension. 

About  four  out  of  five  farm  workers  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Durham  were  either  migratory  single 
men  or  aliens.  Japanese,  Hindoos,  and  Mexicans 
make  up  the  main  body  of  the  labor  on  the  rice 
farms  which  lie  south  of  Durham.  The  board 
wanted  to  sell  homes  to  people  who  were  not  only 
good  workers  but  also  good  citizens,  people  who 
would  want  good  roads,  good  schools,  and  good  gov- 
ernment. It  wanted  to  stop  the  drift  of  white  people 
away  from  the  land  and  to  bring  back  to  country 
districts  the  hopeful  independent  spirit  that  marked 
the  early  life  of  this  State. 

Under  the  California  Act,  farm  workers  can  have 
allotments  in  which  the  land  has  a  value  of  $400. 
The  board  can  build  a  house  to  cost  $800  or  lend  the 
settler  this  sum  to  help  pay  for  the  improvements 
he  makes.  The  land  Is  sold  and  the  loan  made  to 
the  farm  worker  on  the  same  conditions  as  land  Is 
sold  and  loans  made  to  farmers.  The  limit  on  the 
area  of  the  land  was  made  small,  because  if  the 
farm  worker  were  given  too  much  land  he  would 
either  fail  to  cultivate  it  or  cease  to  work  for  wages. 
The  one  and  three-quarters  to  two  acre  allotment  at 


THE  DURHAM  SETTLEMENT      135 

Durham  enables  the  worker  to  have  a  garden,  and 
keep  a  cow,  some  pigs,  and  some  chickens.  He 
need  spend  little  money,  therefore,  for  food;  and  the 
amount  of  his  payments  on  the  land  and  on  the  bor- 
rowed money  is  far  less  than  the  rental  he  would 
have  to  pay  for  a  house  in  the  nearest  town.  As 
will  be  seen  later,  the  surplus  sold  from  some  settlers' 
gardens  has  been  an  important  part  of  their  income. 

There  are  twenty-six  farm  workers'  allotments  at 
Durham.  The  number  was  made  small  because  it 
was  not  known  how  great  the  demand  would  be  for 
farm  labor  and  it  was  felt  that  all  those  who  obtained 
allotments  should  be  able  to  find  constant  employ- 
ment in  the  settlement  or  on  the  nearby  farms. 
Farmers  with  dairy  herds  would  need  milkers  the 
year  through;  those  who  had  pure  bred  live-stock  or 
market  gardens  would  need  help  twelve  months  in  the 
year,  as  there  is  no  dead  season  in  California  on  the 
farm  that  is  intensely  cultivated.  In  this  first  trial 
of  providing  homes  for  farm  workers,  it  was  be- 
lieved that  the  number  should  be  below  rather  than 
above  the  demand.  Experience  has  shown  that  fifty 
allotments  could  have  been  safely  placed  in  this  set- 
tlement; in  the  next  colony  the  relative  number  of 
farm  workers'  allotments  will  be  increased. 

The  allotments  vary  in  area  from  one  and  three- 
fourths  to  two  acres.  The  houses  vary  in  cost  from 
$400  to  $1800.  The  first  year  has  been  given  up  to 
improvements.  On  a  majority  of  the  blocks  there 
has  been  no  income  from  the  land  and  it  will  be  two 
or  three  years  before  the  incomes  from  the  small 
areas  can  be  determined.  This  much  can  be  stated: 
not  a  single  farm  laborer  is  in  arrears.     All  of  them 


136       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

have  made  their  payments  to  the  State;  all  who 
now  have  homes  in  the  settlement  are  not  only  con- 
tented but  enthusiastic.  The  change  in  the  condi- 
tions and  outlook  on  life  of  some  of  them  can  be 
best  shown  by  one  or  two  examples. 

One  of  the  applicants  was  married,  about  forty 
years  old,  and  had  no  children.  He  and  his  wife 
had  been  farm  workers,  but  they  had  saved  no 
money.  It  took  their  whole  accumulated  capital 
to  make  the  $20  first  payment  on  the  land.  That 
payment  was  made  in  June,  19 18.  In  October, 
191 8,  the  buyer  explained  that  he  did  not  build 
a  house  or  make  any  improvements  because  he  was 
working  for  one  of  the  settlers  who  boarded  him 
and  paid  him  $2.50  a  day.  His  wife  was  working 
in  the  orchards  and  packing  plants,  and  being  an  ex- 
pert packer,  she  received  $4.00  a  day  and  her  board. 
The  man  stated  that  the  combined  wages  of  $6.50 
was  all  being  deposited  in  the  bank,  as  the  board 
could  verify  if  it  chose.  He  said  they  wished  to  con- 
tinue working  and  saving  to  the  end  of  the  season 
when  they  would  build  a  house.  Before  they  had 
owned  that  block  a  year,  they  had  built  the  house, 
a  neat  four  roomed  structure.  It  has  been  paid  for 
and  the  board  has  not  advanced  one  cent.  They 
have  made  their  payments  on  the  land  and  built  their 
house  entirely  out  of  their  savings.  For  forty  years 
they  had  saved  nothing.  In  twelve  months  they  had 
saved  over  $1,000.  They  have  a  belief  in  them- 
selves and  aspirations  that  they  have  never  before 
dared  to  entertain. 

Another  of  these  farm  workers  sold  a  mortgaged 
farm  of  177  acres  because  here  was  a  chance  to  earn 


i 


FARM    l..\r.i)RF.U-.-^  HOME 


->  ri-,!\>  I  'X 


THE  DURHAM  SETTLEMENT      137 

a  living  in  the  country  and  have  a  home  of  his  own 
without  the  anxiety  and  burden  of  debt.  The  money 
from  his  equity  in  the  farm  built  his  house.  He  kept 
his  team,  a  cow,  two  pigs,  and  some  chickens;  and 
he  built  a  house  costing  $1,200.  He  planted  a 
garden  and  then  went  to  work  with  his  team  for 
$6.50  a  day.  His  gross  income  from  this  life  has 
been  more  than  from  his  177  acre  farm  and  he  has 
saved  more  than  $1,000.  He  is  more  contented 
and  he  sees  here  a  more  useful  future  than  he  saw 
in  all  his  previous  life. 

There  were  132  applications  for  the  21  allotments 
first  offered  to  settlers.  It  was  harder  to  decide 
whom  to  accept  than  it  was  to  choose  between  those 
who  applied  for  farms.  All  of  the  farmers  knew 
what  they  wanted  to  do.  The  board  could  look  over 
their  plans  for  cultivating  the  farm  and  gain  a  fairly 
accurate  indication  of  their  experience,  judgment, 
and  common  sense.  But  there  was  no  way  of  telling 
whether  the  applicant  for  a  farm  worker's  allotment 
was  the  kind  of  man  the  farmers  would  want  to  hire 
or  what  use  he  would  make  of  this  chance  for  a 
home. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  some  of  the 
allotments  went  to  misfits,  although  on  the  whole 
the  results  were  surprisingly  good.  A  physician  was 
given  an  allotment,  but  he  changed  his  mind  and  went 
elsewhere.  The  chance  to  have  a  garden  looked  less 
attractive  to  a  shoemaker  after  he  was  given  it.  And 
the  few  blocks  that  were  alloted  to  city  people,  who 
thought  a  country  home  would  be  attractive,  have 
nearly  all  been  surrendered.  It  has  worked  out, 
therefore,  that  the  homes  are  getting  into  the  hands 


138      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

of  the  people  for  whom  they  were  designed;  and  these 
people  are  finding  their  new  life  and  opportunities 
more  than  they  expected. 

When  the  act  was  before  the  legislature  there  was 
objection  to  the  term  "  farm  laborer."  It  has  been 
previously  explained  that  some  thought  this  designa- 
tion to  be  humiliating.  A  writer  in  the  press  said 
that  Cahfornia  had  never  recognized  the  existence 
of  anything  but  a  farm  owner;  and  this  was  true, 
for  the  importation  of  alien  laborers  had  driven 
out  the  American  farm  worker.  Those  who  fav- 
ored this  term  believed  that  the  man  who  worked  on 
farms  for  wages  had  an  honorable  and  useful  place 
in  rural  life  and  that  the  thing  was  not  to  ignore  him 
and  his  needs  but  to  create  an  opportunity  and  a 
position  which  would  enable  him  to  be  independent 
and  self-respecting.  If  this  were  done,  no  one  would 
object  to  the  designation  and  no  one  does  object  to 
it  at  Durham  or  in  the  other  colony  now  being 
created.  The  farm  workers  at  Durham  have  had 
constant  work.  They  have  earned  good  wages  and 
living  expenses  have  been  surprisingly  small  because 
most  of  what  they  ate  came  from  their  own  gardens. 

When  making  the  semi-annual  payment  on  a  home 
in  Jan.  1920,  the  wife  of  a  farm  laborer  said  that 
the  average  expense  for  groceries  for  the  past  six 
months  had  been  $6  a  month.  She  and  her  hus- 
band had  had  chickens,  ducks,  geese,  milk,  butter, 
vegetables,  and  fruit  from  their  own  allotment. 
They  had  found  it  necessary  to  buy  little  but  sugar 
and  flour. 

The  Durham  farm  laborers  are  living  in  better 
homes  than  most  of  them  ever  expected  to  have; 


THE  DURHAM  SETTLEMENT      139 

their  wives  and  children  feel  as  if  they  are  part  of 
a  new  world.  They  attend  the  settlement  meetings 
and  discuss  plans  for  new  improvements.  Their 
children  have  as  much  satisfaction  in  their  garden 
as  the  children  who  live  on  40  acre  farms  have  in 
theirs.  The  net  income  of  some  of  these  laborers 
is  larger  than  the  net  income  of  the  majority  of 
farmers.  Those  who  want  to  be  farm  owners  see 
that  their  present  position  is  the  stepping  stone  to 
the  attainment  of  their  desire  not  far  in  the  future. 
Men  from  about  every  state  in  the  Union  have 
applied  for  farm  laborers'  homes  in  the  second  Cali- 
fornia settlement.  The  plan  is  now  understood. 
There  will  be  no  lack  of  men  who  know  how  to  do 
farm  work  when  the  next  allotments  are  ready.  In 
the  amended  act,  the  value  of  the  land  which  may  be 
sold  as  an  allotment,  has  been  raised  from  $400  to 
$1,000.  The  farm  workers'  homes  show  the  great- 
est social  gain  under  the  act.  The  farm  workers 
have  paid  and  will  pay  for  all  the  State  does  for 
them. 


CHAPTER  X 

SOCIAL  PROGRESS  THROUGH  COOPERATION 
AT  DURHAM 

In  planning  the  settlement  at  Durham,  the  board 
realized  that  its  main  problem  was  not  merely  to 
get  people  on  the  land  but  to  make  them  stay  there. 
During  the  past  fifty  years  there  has  been  going  on 
a  migration  away  from  farms,  unique  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  The  man  born  on  the  farm  has  devel- 
oped a  dishke  for  it,  has  left  it  for  the  city,  and  has 
rarely  returned.  The  reason  for  this  is  not  obscure. 
Men  who  live  in  the  cities  feel  that  they  are  parts 
of  an  organized  society  in  direct  contact  with  the 
vital  things  of  life;  the  thoughts  of  the  world  have 
centered  on  cities.  Men  who  live  in  the  country 
feel  the  lack  of  organized  rural  society  and  the  lack 
of  educational  advantages.  They  feel  that  they  are 
cut  off  from  progress  and  in  the  grasp  of  forces  be- 
yond their  control;  that  they  are  being  pushed  back 
into  the  position  of  manual  laborers  on  the  land. 

As  cities  have  grown,  they  have  wrested  from  the 
country  many  of  its  arts  and  industries.  The  farm- 
er's markets  and  the  prices  of  his  products  have  gone 
into  the  control  of  cities.  His  stock,  his  milk,  and 
his  grain  are  being  bought  by  city  men;  by  city  men 
his  meat,  his  butter,  and  his  bread  are  being  pre- 
pared for  him.  This  has  taken  from  rural  life  so 
much  of  its  intellectual  interest  and  economic  power 

140 


COOPERATION  AT  DURHAM       141 

that  the  man  of  active  mind  finds  the  country  a  place 
of  no  opportunity.  The  result  is  indicated  by  the 
depleted  farms  of  New  England  and  the  neglected 
or  abandoned  farms  in  other  older  sections  of  this 
country. 

In  order  to  meet  these  adverse  forces,  it  was  nec- 
essary to  provide  at  Durham  that  the  business  mind 
of  the  farm  be  organized  to  meet  the  business  mind 
of  the  city.  A  new  social  fabric  had  to  be  created. 
Recreation  and  social  enjoyment  had  to  have  a  place. 
Cooperation  had  to  be  organized  in  order  to  restore 
the  former  life  of  the  countryside,  to  bring  back  some 
of  its  industries,  and  to  regain  for  the  farmer  con- 
trol of  the  sale  of  farm  products, —  results  which  can 
be  achieved  only  by  bringing  the  people  of  communi- 
ties to  think  and  work  together. 

The  growth  of  the  cooperative  spirit  in  the  Dur- 
ham Colony  has  been  one  cause  of  its  success.  So 
marked  is  this  that  even  the  casual  visitor  perceives 
something  in  the  life  unlike  what  he  meets  elsewhere. 
In  one  brief  and  busy  year  people  who  came  together 
at  Durham  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  have  learned 
to  help  one  another  with  all  the  spirit  of  the  pioneers 
of  half  a  century  ago.  All  the  settlers  take  a 
healthy  pride  in  what  they  are  trying  to  do.  Their 
loyalty  to  the  community  has  carried  to  success 
cooperative  ventures  which  would  under  ordinary 
conditions  have  failed. 

While  the  land  at  Durham  was  being  made  ready 
for  settlement,  letters  were  written  to  the  professors 
of  animal  husbandry  in  the  leading  agricultural  col- 
leges of  the  country  asking  them  whether  they  ap- 
proved of  having  only  one  breed  of  dairy  cattle,  beef 


142      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep  on  the  settlement  and  if  they 
approved,  what  breeds  they  would  select.  All 
thought  well  of  the  idea.  A  constitution  and  by- 
laws was  therefore  drawn  up  copied  after  those 
used  by  the  cooperative  associations  of  Denmark. 
It  provided  that  there  should  be  an  executive  com- 
mittee of  five  members;  that  nothing  but  pure  bred 
sires  should  be  used  in  the  settlement;  that  these 
might  be  owned  by  the  association  or  by  individuals; 
and  that  all  sires  must  be  approved  by  the  executive 
committee  of  five.  The  board  made  it  compulsory 
for  every  settler  to  become  a  member  of  this  associa- 
tion. After  it  was  formed,  the  association  consid- 
ered the  letters  from  the  different  colleges  and 
adopted  Holsteins  as  the  dairy  breed.  Short  Horns 
as  the  beef  breed  of  cattle,  Duroc  Jersey  as  the  breed 
of  hogs,  and  Romney  Marsh  and  Rambouillet  as 
the  two  breeds  of  sheep. 

The  constitution  provided  that  the  Land  Settle- 
ment Board  should  appoint  two  of  the  first  five  mem- 
bers of  the  executive  committee  and  the  settlers  the 
remaining  three.  The  board  named  Prof.  Gordon 
H.  True,  professor  of  animal  husbandry  in  the 
University  of  California,  and  Mr.  Kreutzer,  the 
superintendent  of  the  settlement.  The  settlers 
named  three  members  who  were  all  experienced 
stock  men.  The  value  of  the  association  was  shown 
at  once. 

Since  the  Durham  State  Land  Settlement  is  not 
located  in  a  dairying  section  of  California  but  is 
surrounded  by  hundreds  of  acres  of  orchards  and 
gardens,  the  Durham  farmers  had  to  obtain  their 
cattle  from  sources  at  a  considerable  distance.     No 


COOPERATION  AT  DURHAM       143 

one  farmer  could  afford  to  take  long  trips  to  remote 
sections  of  the  State  to  purchase  the  few  cows  that  he 
needed.  If  the  Stock  Breeders'  Association  were 
to  obtain  cattle  in  any  numbers,  it  would  be  necessary 
for  a  committee  to  visit  the  communities  in  which 
the  dairy  business  was  well  established  and  which 
were  noted  also  for  having  Holstein  cattle  of  good 
breeding  and  high  production. 

Another  thing  that  required  community  action  in 
building  up  dairy  herds  was  the  prevalence  of  tuber- 
culosis among  cattle  in  California.  All  the  leading 
stock  growers  of  California  agree  that  tuberculosis 
is  a  serious  menace  to  the  life  and  health  of  people 
who  use  milk  and  to  the  dairy  and  hog  industries. 
The  disease  is  so  contagious  and  is  found  in  so  many 
herds  that  to  build  up  and  keep  a  herd  free  from  it 
calls  for  such  courage,  persistence,  and  care  that  most 
breeders  have  simply  let  things  take  their  course. 
About  the  only  way  to  stamp  out  tuberculosis  and 
keep  it  stamped  out  is  through  community  action. 
The  chance  for  contagion  is  greatly  lessened,  if  all 
the  people  in  a  neighborhood  keep  nothing  but 
healthy  animals  and  if  the  breeding  of  stock  is  done 
within  the  healthy  area  so  as  to  avoid  bringing  in 
affected  animals  from  the  outside.  So  common  is 
this  disease  that  all  milk  for  human  consumption 
which  does  not  come  from  certified  dairies  has  to  be 
pasteurized;  and  many  hogs  slaughtered  in  Cali- 
fornia are  found  to  be  tubercular  from  being  fed  on 
milk  from  tubercular  cows.  If  the  Durham  Set- 
tlement were  to  start  right,  it  would  be  necessary 
for  its  stock  to  be  purchased  by  men  able  to  judge 
animals  and  test  them  for  disease. 


144      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  committee's  first  purchase  was  a  herd  of 
twenty-seven  Holstein  cows  and  heifers  from  a 
tuberculin  tested  herd.  Each  animal  was  re-tested 
before  purchase  to  make  sure  that  it  was  clean  and 
suitable  for  the  farmers  at  Durham.  This  herd 
was  taken  to  Durham  and  was  soon  disposed  of  to 
the  various  farmers  requiring  stock.  It  is  remark- 
able that  not  a  single  animal  of  this  herd  or  of  its 
progeny  has  yet  reacted.  In  a  short  time  other 
farmers  were  requiring  dairy  cows  in  numbers  at 
least  large  enough  to  supply  the  family  needs.  In 
cases  where  they  were  wanted  immediately  the  com- 
mittee was  not  always  in  a  position  to  supply  them; 
for  the  committee  grouped  purchases  and  bought  in 
a  herd  of  stock  at  a  time  so  as  to  reduce  the  expense 
of  purchasing,  shipping,  and  driving  and  thus  to  put 
the  stock  on  the  colony  at  a  minimum  cost. 

While  all  farmers  were  cautioned  not  to  purchase 
stock  without  having  it  tested,  some  of  them  were 
tempted,  because  of  the  urgent  need  of  cows,  to  buy 
individual  untested  animals  from  small  dairies  locat- 
ed within  a  few  miles  of  the  settlement.  In  all,  some 
42  animals  were  purchased  in  this  way  and  when 
finally  tested  for  tuberculosis  by  the  representative 
of  the  University  and  the  State  Veterinarian's  ofHce, 
35  of  this  number  re-acted.  The  tubercular  animals 
were  found  on  a  number  of  the  farms.  The  com- 
mittee proposed  to  have  these  brought  together  and 
disposed  of  as  tubercular  animals.  From  one  farm, 
five  animals  were  thus  found  to  be  re-actors  and  con- 
sequently meant  a  serious  loss  to  a  beginner  in  the 
dairy  business. 


COOPERATION  AT  DURHAM       145 

At  a  meeting  held  by  the  association  it  was  finally 
agreed  that  the  tubercular  cattle  should  be  disposed 
of  as  such  and  that  the  community  as  a  whole  would 
stand  one-half  of  the  loss  incurred.  This  share  of 
the  burden  on  the  community  as  a  whole  was  gener- 
ously met  without  a  dissent.  Such  a  spirit  of  coop- 
eration is  almost  unparalleled  in  new  communities. 
That  the  settlers  were  willing  to  rise  to  the  occasion 
allowed  the  Durham  Colony  to  stand  as  a  stock 
breeding  community  without  a  spot  on  it. 

It  also  taught  these  farmers  that  the  only  safe 
way  to  buy  healthy  cows  is  to  have  them  tested  by 
a  qualified  veterinarian  before  purchase. 

The  committee  which  represented  the  colony  in 
buying  cows  were  asked  not  only  to  obtain  those  free 
from  disease,  but  wherever  possible  to  get  cows  from 
herds  of  high  milk  production  with  a  definite  pedigree 
value,  even  if  they  were  not  open  to  registry  as  pure 
bred  stock.  Professional  dairymen  of  California 
have  so  improved  their  herds  that  the  average  but- 
ter fat  of  the  milk  of  California  Holsteins  is  con- 
siderably above  that  of  the  country  as  a  whole. 
In  Durham,  the  settlers  planned  to  build  up  herds 
of  their  own  by  keeping  the  calves  of  high  produc- 
ers; and  this  meant  that  they  must  have  good  sires. 
They  consulted  Professor  True,  head  of  the  animal 
husbandry  department  of  the  State  University,  as 
to  where  they  ought  to  go  for  the  bulls  which  were 
to  head  the  herds. 

There  was  no  question  as  to  the  value  of  the 
animals  in  the  herd  of  A.  W.  Morris  &  Son  of  Wood- 
land, California.     It  is  one  of  the  greatest  herds  of 


146      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

the  world,  some  of  its  cows  standing  foremost  in  their 
class.  One  of  them,  Tillie  Alcartra  has  broken  the 
world's  milk  yield  record  three  times  in  succession 
and  is  known  everywhere  among  Holstein  breeders. 

Although  the  purse  of  the  Durham  breeders  was 
light,  they  were  urged  by  Professor  True  to  get  a 
sire  related  to  this  great  cow;  and  they  were  fortu- 
nate in  having  the  sympathetic  interest  of  the  owner 
of  the  herd  in  their  ambitious  endeavor.  He  sold 
to  the  settlers'  association,  King  Morco  Alcartra 
VIII,  grandson  of  Tillie  Alcartra,  as  a  herd  sire  for 
Durham  at  less  than  one-half  of  his  sale  price. 

As  this  was  the  first  purchase  of  a  community  sire, 
funds  had  to  be  raised  to  meet  the  cost  of  the  ani- 
mal. Five  dollar  debentures  were  issued  bearing 
interest  at  six  per  cent,  and  redeemable  in  twelve 
months.  At  a  single  stock  breeders'  meeting  the 
sum  of  money  required  was  oversubscribed  and  the 
animal  paid  for. 

The  Jane  Garden  herd  at  Sacramento  owned  by 
Fred  Kiesel  of  Sacramento,  is  also  a  noted  Holstein 
herd.  Mr.  Kiesel  realized  the  difficulties  faced  by 
the  settlers  in  obtaining  animals  of  high  merit  and  in 
his  usual  generous  way  of  doing  things,  offered  the 
community  the  pick  of  young  bulls  from  the  Jane 
Garden  Farm.  In  this  way  Durham  obtained  as 
its  second  sire,  Jane  Garden  Perfecto  Walker,  in 
Mr.  Kiesel's  opinion  one  of  the  best  animals  that 
ever  left  his  herd.  The  third  sire  was  a  son  of  one 
of  the  high  production  cows  at  the  University  farm. 
The  Stock  Breeders'  Association  now  owns  seven  reg- 
istered bulls.  They  are  kept  on  one  farm  at  present, 
but  will  be  divided  when  breeding  centers  have  been 


COOPERATION  AT  DURHAM       147 

arranged.  The  stock  are  brought  for  service  at  a 
charge  sufficient  to  replace  the  animals  later  and  to 
pay  for  their  keep. 

The  committee  traveled  hundreds  of  miles  looking 
at  herds  from  which  after  inspection  they  did  not 
feel  it  was  safe  to  buy.  Its  members  lost  much  time 
that  could  not  well  be  spared  from  their  farms.  Out 
of  35  animals  picked  by  the  committee  from  one  herd 
consisting  of  springing  heifers  and  cows,  nineteen  re- 
acted; thus  the  committee  lost  three  days'  time  and 
caused  disappointment  to  settlers  who  stood  in  urgent 
need  of  family  cows.  On  the  same  trip  twelve  out  of 
seventeen  in  another  group  and  twelve  out  of  four- 
teen in  a  third  group  were  found  to  re-act. 

In  gratifying  contrast  to  these  delays  was  the 
sale  at  the  Napa  State  Hospital,  which  has  kept  pure 
bred  sires  for  fifteen  years  and  has  tested  the  hospital 
herd  for  tuberculosis  for  the  past  ten  years.  It 
put  up  a  consignment  of  young  heifers  and  cows  at 
public  auction.  Here  the  Durham  committee  ob- 
tained a  number  of  fine  cattle. 

It  was  known  that  the  Napa  herd  was  free  from 
tuberculosis,  that  the  sires  had  been  selected  with 
care,  and  that  milking  strains  were  high.  The 
prices  for  the  animals  were  far  higher  than  the 
usual  prices,  fully  double  those  of  ordinary  grade 
Holstein  stock.  The  Durham  Committee,  fearful 
lest  if  they  bought  at  the  prices  which  had  to  be  paid, 
their  action  would  not  be  approved  by  the  settlers, 
purchased  only  the  number  that  could  be  absorbed  by 
the  members  of  the  committee.  But  when  the  ani- 
mals were  exhibited  for  the  farmers'  inspection  at 
the  colony,  there  was  the  keenest  rivalry  for  obtain- 


148       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

ing  them.  Three  times  the  available  number  could 
have  been  sold. 

Buying  a  cow  free  from  tuberculosis  does  not  nec- 
essarily mean  that  the  problem  Is  solved.  Tl'.e 
purchaser  must  know  the  origin  of  the  animal  and 
whether  or  not  she  comes  from  a  herd  comparatively 
free  from  the  disease.  Such  information  can  be 
obtained  only  by  testing  whole  herds  regardless  of 
the  purchases  made.  It  is  frequently  the  case  that 
an  animal  found  free  from  tuberculosis  when  tested 
will  re-act  at  a  later  date,  if  it  comes  from  a  badly 
infected  herd. 

The  problems  of  buying  cattle  are  so  difficult  that 
a  community  can  solve  them  only  by  means  of  a  com- 
mittee. If  each  individual  in  the  colony  at  Dur- 
ham had  been  left  to  protect  the  health  of  his  herd 
and  that  of  his  family  who  used  milk,  he  would  have 
been  helpless. 

To  keep  the  settlement  free  from  tuberculosis 
cost  money  that  the  settlers  individually  could  not 
afford  to  spend.  It  took  time,  patience,  and  per- 
sistence which  few  of  them  would  have  shown  if  they 
had  acted  alone.  Their  stand  is  of  value  to  all 
California  and  it  will  succeed  because  of  the  cour- 
age gained  from  touching  elbows,  in  a  community 
working  together.  A  number  of  the  members  think 
a  veterinarian  should  be  obtained  and  financed  by 
the  payment  of  a  definite  price  per  animal  per  year 
by  each  member  possessing  stock.  But  in  this,  as  in 
many  other  new  things,  all  of  the  members  are  not 
of  one  mind.  Some  believe  that  it  Is  too  early  to 
Incur  this  expense  and  that  there  are  not  enough 
animals  to  keep  a  veterinarian  occupied.     The  mat- 


COOPERATION  AT  DURHAM       149 

ter  has  therefore  been  laid  on  the  table  to  be  con- 
sidered later. 

A  counter  proposal  has  been  made  according  to 
which  the  men  who  desire  to  pay  a  definite  rate  per 
year  may  do  so  and  those  who  do  not  desire  to  enter 
into  such  an  arrangement  may  pay  for  service  when 
they  require  it.  This  plan  would  ultimately  result  in 
the  payment  of  a  definite  fee  each  year  by  each  of 
the  members,  if  the  veterinarian  performed  a  real 
service  to  the  community.  There  is  not  the  slight- 
est doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  executive  committee, 
that  this  will  be  the  ultimate  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem of  veterinary  service,  when  there  is  more  valu- 
able live-stock  at  Durham. 

In  purchasing  hogs  for  the  Durham  Colony,  the 
settlers  followed  the  same  plan  as  that  followed  in 
purchasing  cattle.  The  association  bought  one  of 
the  prize  winning  boars  at  the  state  fair.  Mr.  R.  K. 
Walker,  one  of  the  leading  Duroc  Jersey  breeders 
of  Southern  California,  gave  the  colony  another.  ^ 

A  number  of  the  farms  have  pedigreed  hogs  which 
have  been  secured  from  some  of  the  best  breeders  in 
the  State.  Already  a  market  has  been  established 
for  all  the  pedigreed  stock  of  both  cows  and  hogs 
that  the  settlers  have  to  sell.  Some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  executive  committee  are  becoming  widely 
known.  The  purpose  of  the  colony  to  have  nothing 
but  sound  healthy  animals  and  to  build  up  a  com- 
munity reputation  for  the  quality  of  the  particular 
breeds  that  are  being  grown  has  created  a  confidence 
In  the  minds  of  the  public  that  augurs  well  for  the 
settlement's  future.  The  farm  bureaus  of  counties 
■a  other  parts  of  the  state  are  referring  their  mem- 


I50      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

bers  to  the  Durham  Settlement  as  a  place  where 
good  stock  can  be  bought  at  prices  which  farmers 
can  afford  to  pay. 

All  of  the  settlers  are  agreed  as  to  the  value  of 
the  cooperative  association  and  have  a  keen  local 
pride  in  the  reputation  that  the  stock  has  already 
secured.  They  realize  that  if  they  had^  bought  as 
individuals,  they  would  have  bought  mainly  culls. 
By  having  two  or  three  experts  buy  their  stock  they 
have  obtained  good  animals  at  prices  less  than  those 
which  independent  individuals  would  have  paid  for 
poor  ones. 

The  Stock  Breeders'  Association  took  up  also  the 
difficult  question  of  finding  a  market  for  the  milk  of 
the  many  small  herds  of  the  colony.  Marketing 
farm  products  is  difficult  in  California,  a  State  of 
great  distances  with  only  a  few  large  cities.  It  is 
shut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world  by  an  ocean  on 
one  side  and  a  desert  on  the  other.  It  is  therefore 
easy  for  city  buyers  to  combine  and  raise  or  depress 
prices.  After  the  fruit  industry  was  nearly  ruined 
by  such  a  combination,  there  grew  up  a  number  of 
powerful  organizations  of  fruit  producers,  but  the 
general  farmer  has  not  made  much  headway.  His 
position  is  very  like  that  stated  by  Dr.  Carver: 

"  One  thing  which  threatens  the  prosperity  and  even  the 
existence  of  the  small  farmer  is  the  handicap  under  which  he 
finds  himself  in  buying  and  selling.  The  big  farmer  who 
can  buy  and  sell  in  large  quantities  and  also  employ  expert 
talent  in  buying  and  selling  and  in  securing  credit  has  an 
advantage  over  the  small  farmer  who  must  buy  and  sell  in 
small  quantities  and  give  his  time  and  attention  mainly  to  the 
growing  of  crops  rather  than  to  selling  them.     Much  of 


COOPERATION  AT  DURHAM       151 

the  supposed  economy  of  large-scale  production,  even  in  mer- 
chandising and  manufacturing,  is  found,  upon  examination, 
to  consist  wholly  in  an  advantage  in  bargaining;  that  is,  in 
buying  and  selling.  When  it  comes  to  the  work  of  growing 
farm  crops,  as  distinct  from  selling  them  and  buying  raw 
materials,  the  one-family  farm  is  the  most  efficient  unit  that 
has  yet  been  found.  But  the  big  farmer  can  beat  the  indi- 
vidual small  farmer  in  buying  and  selling.  It  would  seem 
desirable,  from  the  standpoint  of  national  efficiency,  to  pre- 
serve the  small  farm  as  the  productive  unit,  but  to  organize 
a  number  of  small  farms  into  larger  units  for  buying  and 
selling.  Thus  we  should  have  the  most  efficient  units  both 
in  producing  and  in  buying  and  selling." 

The  Durham  farmer  was  in  no  position  to  market 
the  milk  from  his  small  dairy  herd  or  the  products 
from  his  fields  to  advantage.  He  was  building 
fences,  planting  crops,  irrigating  land;  his  time  and 
his  strength  were  both  used  to  the  utmost  in  getting 
the  farm  into  shape.  Yet  from  every  farm  there 
were  a  few  tons  of  hay,  a  few  hundred  bushels  of 
grain,  the  surplus  products  of  the  garden,  and  the 
milk  from  three  to  a  dozen  cows  to  be  sold.  Finding 
a  buyer  who  would  give  fair  prices  for  these  small 
quantities  was  one  of  the  things  that  could  not  be 
neglected.  On  it,  depended  whether  things  would 
be  grown  at  a  profit  or  at  a  loss. 

The  superintendent  was  charged  with  endless  re- 
quests to  find  buyers  and  to  do  this  he  had  to  pool 
sales.  Since  the  board  believed  that  the  colony 
should  be  trained  as  soon  as  possible  to  attend  in 
every  way  to  its  own  affairs,  the  Cooperative  Stock 
Breeders'  Association  became  a  marketing  associa- 
tion.    The  most  acute  problem  it  had  to  deal  with 


152      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

was  how  to  market  the  milk  from  the  different  herds 
to  the  best  advantage.  The  farmer  with  three  or 
four  cows  could  not  afford  a  cooling  plant  or  a  sep- 
arator. Aside  from  the  cost  of  the  equipment  to 
chill  and  separate  the  milk,  to  keep  the  apparatus 
clean  would  take  time  that  the  farmer  could  not 
spare.  It  was  clear  that  a  central  plant  where  all 
the  milk  could  be  chilled  and  the  separator  run  by 
electricity  was  a  colony  need. 

The  settlers  would  have  been  relieved  If  the  board 
had  come  forward  and  built  and  operated  a  central 
milk  station,  but  to  do  so  was  against  the  board's 
policy.  So  the  community,  with  the  advice  of  the 
superintendent  authorized  the  association  to  raise  the 
money,  buy  the  equipment,  and  hire  a  competent  fore- 
man. Every  settler  brings  the  milk  from  his  farm 
once  a  day  to  be  tested  and  separated.  The  butter 
fat  or  sweet  cream  is  sold  as  an  association  product 
and  the  farmer  takes  back  the  skimmed  milk  for 
his  pigs  and  calves.  The  foreman  keeps  the  books 
and  makes  fortnightly  payments  to  members.  Large 
dealers  were  eager  to  contract  for  the  supply;  and 
the  association  could  bargain  with  Sacramento  and 
Chico.  It  gathered  data  as  to  the  profits  and  the 
risks  of  retailing  milk  to  the  people  of  Chico.  The 
fact  that  Its  cows  were  free  from  tuberculosis  and 
were  to  be  kept  so,  gave  it  a  marked  advantage;  but 
the  settlers  decided  that  there  was  a  risk  in  retail 
distribution  which  they  could  not  afford  and  that  it 
would  require  money  and  time  that  were  more  needed 
on  their  farms.  What  the  association's  committee 
learned  about  marketing  milk  in  cities  will  help  them 
in  dealing  with  this  question  in  the  future.     As  it  is, 


COOPERATION  AT  DURHAM       153 

the  colony  gets  a  premium  on  Its  milk,  which  is  sold 
at  a  less  expense  and  for  a  higher  price  than  that  of 
many  of  the  old  and  larger  dairies  in  the  country.^ 

The  Durham  farmers  are  seUing  other  things  than 
milk  under  a  community  label.  Orders  are  already 
coming  to  the  colony  for  pure  bred  stock;  and  when 
they  come,  the  executive  committee  of  the  association 
passes  judgment  on  the  quality  of  the  animals 
shipped.  They  are  also  buying  as  a  community. 
All  the  seed  grain  and  the  alfalfa  seed  were  bought 
as  a  colony  purchase.  A  late  purchase  was  five  silos 
for  five  farms.  Mowers  and  plows  are  bought  In 
carload  lots.  In  all  cases  local  dealers  are  given 
first  call  except  when  the  saving  to  be  gained  abroad 
is  too  great  to  be  overlooked. 

There  is,  however,  no  rule  about  buying  and  selling 
as  a  community.  The  advantages'of  the  community 
buying  of  cows  and  marketing  milk  are  so  obvious 
that  they  will  continue;  but  In  many  things  the  farm- 
ers act  Individually  on  their  own  judgment.  One 
farmer  has  already  built  up  a  local  demand  for  his 
alfalfa  because  he  cuts  and  cures  It  so  carefully  that 
in  one  season  his  skill  and  the  extra  value  of  his 
product  have  become  known.  Others  are  preparing 
to  grow  things  a  little  better  than  the  colony  average 
and  thus  obtain  special  prices  and  at  the  same  time 
strengthen  the  community  reputation.  Next  year 
an  auction  sale  of  pure  bred  stock  will  be  held.  All 
are  working  to  make  it  a  success.  Some  breeders 
will  make  such  a  showing  that  here,  as  outside,  the 
ablest  will  forge  ahead. 

1  Settlers  are  getting  7  cents  a  lb.  more  for  butter  fat  than  are 
individual  dairymen  nearby. 


154       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

An  important  community  action  which  has  en- 
abled the  people  at  Durham  to  live  well  and  cheaply 
was  the  building  at  Chico  of  a  cold  storage  ware- 
house for  the  use  of  the  families  of  the  district.  Its 
interior  is  cut  up  into  compartments  which  are  rented 
to  users  by  the  month  or  year,  like  the  boxes  in  a 
safe  deposit  vault.  The  plant  has  i,ooo  customers 
and  serves  a  radius  of  35  miles.  A  great  many  resi- 
dents of  nearby  towns  as  well  as  Durham  farmers 
take  advantage  of  this  system  of  storage. 

One  of  the  rooms  of  this  plant  is  fitted  with  470 
paraffin  fir  boxes  i'x9'x3'  capable  of  holding  100 
pounds.  Each  box  has  a  lock  and  the  farmer  keeps 
the  key.  The  present  charge  is  $4.50  a  year,  A 
box  holding  800  pounds  rents  for  $24.00  per 
year. 

Meat  can  be  brought  in  warm  and  placed  in  the 
cooling  room  before  it  is  cut  up.  This  is  necessary 
because  meat  makes  a  fog  during  the  cooling  process 
which  causes  mold  unless  it  is  reduced  by  a  suitable 
ventilation  system. 

In  the  same  building  there  is  another  system  of 
storage  primarily  for  transient  stores.  A  price  of 
13^  cent  per  pound  per  gross  weight  for  six  months 
is  charged;  but  there  is  also  a  ^  cent  rate  where 
produce  is  stored  for  a  short  time  and  not  frozen. 
Large  quantities  of  fruits,  meats,  and  vegetables 
are  stored;  a  hind  quarter  of  beef  can  be  cut  to 
sizes  preferred  by  the  family,  wrapped  in  paraffin 
paper  and  taken  from  the  box  as  needed  in  the  best 
condition,  the  paper  wrapping  preserving  the  beef 
from  mold  and  drying  out.  Meat  stored  by  this 
means,  costs  users  from  14  cents  to  16  cents  per 


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nifflT^YiTfiiiimiiii 

COMMUNITY  COLD-STORAGE  PLANT,  CHICO,  SHOWING  AR- 
RANGEMENT OF  BOXES  TO  HOLD  ONE  HUNDRED  POUNDS 


COOPERATION  AT  DURHAM       155 

pound  instead  of  from  35  cents  to  45  cents  per  pound 
as  bought  in  small  quantities   from  butchers. 

The  storage  plant  has  been  used  by  the  settlers  for 
keeping  eggs  and  dressed  chickens  until  enough  for 
a  shipment  has  accumulated  or  until  a  price  that  is 
satisfactory  is  offered. 

One  of  the  large  rooms  is  given  over  entirely  to 
the  safe  deposit  system.  Tiers  of  drawers  are  ar- 
ranged on  both  sides  of  the  room  and  in  the  center. 
Each  of  the  470  draws  and  80  large  compartments 
can  be  opened  and  emptied  without  disturbing  any 
of  the  others.  Entrance  to  this  room  is  from  the 
street  and  through  the  cooling  room,  which  is  fitted 
up  with  cutting  blocks  and  a  complete  set  of  butch- 
er's tools  for  the  use  of  patrons.  Paraffin  paper 
is  furnished  the  patrons  at  cost. 

During  the  summer  months,  farmers  bring  in  loads 
of  green  corn,  beans,  peas,  and  other  vegetables, 
which  may  be  kept  fresh  for  several  months. 
Grapes  packed  in  redwood  sawdust  keep  perfectly 
for  a  long  time. 

A  modern  plant  like  that  at  Chico  including  equip- 
ment for  ice  making,  capacity  10  tons  a  day,  may  be 
built  for  from  $45,000  to  $50,000,  The  rooms 
ought  to  be  tiled  and  the  boxes  made  of  galvanized 
iron  for  easy  cleaning  and  non-absorption  of  odors. 
This  would  be  an  improvement  over  the  Chico  plant, 
in  which  the  rooms  and  the  individual  boxes  are  of 
wood. 

The  Stock  Breeders'  Association  enlarged  its 
functions  in  the  interest  of  the  community  in  dealing 
with  education.  The  children  in  the  settlement  had 
to  be  educated.     The  nearby  town  of  Durham  said, 


156      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

"  Send  the  young  children  to  the  town  school." 
Chico,  seven  miles  away  and  connected  by  a  concrete 
highway,  said,  "  Send  the  larger  children  to  the  high 
school  or  to  the  State  Normal."  The  Stock  Breed- 
ers' Association  discussed  the  question,  "  Shall  we 
try  to  build  a  school  this  year  or  start  a  free  bus  to 
send  the  chilren  to  the  two  towns?"  and  decided  in 
favor  of  the  bus  line.  Thus  at  present  all  the 
children  go  to  schools  outside  the  settlement;  the 
town  of  Durham  had  to  spend  $50,000  to  provide 
for  the  first  year's  increase  in  its  school  attendance. 
The  settlement  hopes  for  a  training  school  in 
agriculture  to  be  located  at  its  civic  center  and  affil- 
iated with  the  State  Normal  School  at  Chico.  The 
site  reserved  is  so  beautiful  that  it  will  be  an  excel- 
lent influence  in  the  lives  of  the  future  generations. 
This  site  was  part  of  an  oak  grove  reserved  by  Sen- 
ator Stanford,  former  owner  of  the  land,  as  a  park. 
When  the  State  bought  the  land,  the  board  at  first 
reserved  eight  acres  of  this  for  a  school  site.  Prof. 
Frank  Adams  of  the  university  on  one  of  his  visits 
to  the  settlement  made  a  protest  at  the  small  size 
of  the  area.  He  said,  "  The  board  must  reserve 
twenty  acres  Instead  of  eight.  That  grove  ought 
to  be  kept  for  a  country  picnic  ground.  You  can  do 
it  now.  If  you  sell  it,  there  will  be  no  chance  when 
its  value  is  realized.  Think  what  it  will  mean  to 
have  that  shade  in  the  years  to  come  when  all  the 
other  groves  are  gone."  The  board  approved. 
Twenty-two  acres  were  reserved.  The  picture 
illustrates  the  appearance  of  the  land  now.  The 
frontispiece  shows  what  it  will  be  when  fully  Im- 
proved. 


COOPERATION  AT  DURHAM       157 

Already  the  grove  has  become  a  neighborhood 
Institution.  The  settlers  have  erected  a  dancing 
pavilion  where  they  gather  every  other  Friday  night. 
They  have  bought  a  piano.  The  dances  are  attended 
by  some  of  the  best  people  of  the  surrounding  farms 
and  orchards,  whose  lives  had  for  years  lacked  social 
entertainment.  One  of  the  outside  farmers  said, 
"  Until  the  settlers  put  up  that  pavilion,  I  hadn't 
danced  for  fifteen  years.  Now  I'd  no  more  think 
of  staying  away  than  of  going  without  a  meal.  It 
livens  up  the  whole  family." 

The  Durham  community  do  not  need  to  go  to 
the  city  to  keep  from  being  bored.  They  do  not 
find  farm  life  drab  or  dull.  Although  they  have  to 
work  hard  and  count  the  cost  of  all  they  buy,  they 
feel  no  lack  of  those  homely  joys  which  cost  only  a 
friendly  helpful  spirit  and  a  little  time  and  effort  to 
plan  and  prepare.  What  strikes  the  stranger  is 
the  vigor  of  their  social  interests  and  the  effect  it  has 
had  on  the  morale  of  the  struggling  families. 

Thus  far,  whatever  has  been  done  for  the  social 
welfare  of  Durham  has  been  done  as  a  part  of  the 
practical  task  of  making  a  living.  This  was  some- 
thing which  could  not  be  postponed.  The  settlers 
had  no  surplus  capital.  After  the  first  six  months, 
bills  had  to  be  paid  from  things  sold  off  the  farms. 
The  pressing  need  for  getting  the  farms  In  shape 
to  make  money,  made  any  elaborate  social  program 
unwise,  but  it  did  not  prevent  unique  social  progress. 
It  led  the  settlers  to  see  that  their  own  money  and 
all  that  the  State  could  lend  them  would  pay  for  what 
they  needed  only  if  constant  frugality  were  the  rule. 
It  led  them  to  understand  that  if  they  were  to  get 


158      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

full  value,  they  had  to  buy  and  sell  as  a  community. 

Coming  to  farms  on  which  crops  were  growing, 
receiving  aid  in  planning  and  building  houses,  finding 
a  constitution  and  by-laws  for  the  Cooperative  Stock 
Breeders'  Association  all  ready  for  use,  made  the 
Durham  settlers  realize  at  the  start  that  every  farm 
and  family  was  a  part  of  an  organized  whole. 
Their  training  in  agricultural  science  began  when  the 
letters  from  fifteen  agricultural  colleges  were  handed 
them.  It  has  been  kept  up  by  close  contact  with  the 
University.  As  the  letters  were  read,  settlers  gained 
a  new  idea  of  their  share  in  the  undertaking  and  of 
what  could  be  done  on  their  farms.  The  leading  ex- 
perts of  the  nation  were  advising  them.  Professor 
True  supplemented  their  advice  with  talks  on  what 
a  community  could  accomplish  if  all  its  members 
would  work  together  to  build  up  a  reputation  for 
products  of  good  sound  quality. 

In  one  month  the  settlers  learned  more  about  stock 
breeding,  blood  lines,  and  the  care  of  animals  than 
they  had  learned  in  ten  years  before.  When  they 
debated  the  merits  of  different  breeds,  they  began 
to  think  as  never  before  about  form,  color,  size,  and 
blood  lines,  as  factors  in  growing  live-stock.  The 
money  value  of  pedigrees  was  a  new  idea  with  most 
of  them,  but  the  royal  breeding  of  the  community 
bulls  soon  added  something  to  the  value  of  every 
farm  and  set  a  standard  to  be  lived  up  to  in  other 
farm  matters. 

As  the  months  went  on  and  the  Durham  settlers 
worked  together  in  buying  stock,  in  planning  their 
community  center,  in  deciding  how  the  settlement 
children  should  obtain  school  privileges  they  began 


COOPERATION  AT  DURHAM       159 

to  be  bound  together  by  ties  of  personal  affection  as 
well  as  community  interest.  The  action  of  the  stock 
breeders  in  making  the  community  share  in  the  loss 
from  the  enforced  sale  of  tubercular  cows  has  been 
mentioned. 

Recently  a  settler's  barn  burnt.  He  lost  his  hay, 
horses,  and  most  .of  his  farm  implements,  a  money 
loss  of  about  $3,000.  I  wrote  asking  if  there  was 
anything  the  board  could  do  to  help  him  get  started 
again,  but  before  my  letter  was  answered  the  people 
of  the  settlement  had  met,  made  all  arrangements, 
and  rebuilt  the  barn  for  him.  After  this  remark- 
able example  of  community  spirit,  the  settler  wrote 
me  this  letter: 

"  Your  letter  of  Nov.  28th  at  hand.  I  wish  to  thank  you 
for  the  kind  offer,  but  at  the  present  time  I  am  not  in  need. 
Everything  is  going  along  nicely.  I  will  admit  the  loss  is 
a  hard  blow  to  me  at  the  present  time,  but  I  can  see  no 
reason  why  I  should  not  be  able  to  go  ahead  just  the  same 
and  put  my  farm  on  a  paying  basis.  I  have  a  new  barn. 
The  old  one  and  other  things  that  burned,  I  have  forgotten, 
but  I  will  never  forget  the  kindness  of  the  people  on  the 
colony.  They  all  turned  out  and  put  my  barn  up  in  two 
days.     I  greatly  appreciate  such  neighbors." 

Cooperation  is  to  be  one  of  the  vital  forces  in 
rural  progress  in  the  future.  Its  material  advan- 
tages are  no  greater  than  its  social  benefits. 

"  Our  village  life  "  says  Mr.  G.  W.  Russell,  the 
Irish  poet  and  land  reformer,  "  is  dull  because  it  is 
the  life  of  isolated  individuals.  Our  rural  popula- 
tions are  no  more  closely  connected  for  the  most  part 
than  the  shifting  sands  of  the  sea  shore.     There  are 


i6o      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

personal  friendships,  of  course,  but  few  economic 
or  social  partnerships.  Everyone  pursues  his  own 
occupation  without  regard  to  the  occupation  of  his 
neighbors.  If  a  man  emigrates  it  does  not  affect 
the  occupation  of  those  who  farm  land  all  about  him. 
They  go  on  plowing  and  digging,  buying  and  selling, 
just  as  before.  They  suffer  no  personal  economic 
loss  by  the  departure  of  half  a  dozen  men  from  the 
district.  A  true  community  would,  of  course,  be 
affected  by  the  loss  of  its  members.  A  cooperative 
society  that  loses  a  dozen  members,  the  milk  of  their 
cows,  their  orders  for  fertilizers,  seeds  and  feeding 
stuffs,  receives  serious  injury  to  its  prosperity.  That 
is  the  difference  between  a  community  and  an  unor- 
ganized population." 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  CAPITAL  REQUIRED  BY  SETTLERS 

In  settling  the  land  at  Durham,  the  board  was  crit- 
icized because  it  would  not  sell  farms  to  people 
without  either  money  or  assets.  It  was  argued  that 
men  without  capital  had  been  able  to  buy  farms  from 
the  time  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  at  Plymouth 
until  the  beginning  of  this  century.  Many  believed 
that  the  aid  given  by  the  state  should  be  sufficient  to 
furnish  all  the  money  needed  to  build  the  settler's 
house,  buy  his  team  and  implements,  and  provide  for 
his  living  expenses  until  he  could  grow  a  crop.  But 
the  fallacy  of  this  belief  was  understood  by  every  one 
who  had  accurate  knowledge  of  the  cost  of  improving 
a  farm  and  of  the  hazards  of  farming. 

Nothing  connected  with  colonization  has  been  less 
obscured  than  the  amount  of  money  needed  to  im- 
prove and  equip  a  farm.  Official  information  on  this 
point  has  not  been  available;  yet  such  information  is 
most  necessary  to  any  person  who  buys  unimproved 
land.  An  unimproved  farm  cannot  produce  an  in- 
come until  money  Is  spent  to  provide  Hve-stock,  im- 
plements, shelter  for  the  family,  and  living  expenses. 

The  amount  of  money  required  for  these  things 
should  be  known  by  those  who  deal  with  settlers;  and 
settlers  ought  to  be  candidly  and  fairly  informed  of 
it  and  advised  about  the  risks  they  incur.     If  the  land 

i6i 


1 62       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

seeker  does  not  have  the  amount  of  money  needed, 
then  those  who  are  selling  the  land  should  either  un- 
dertake to  furnish  it  as  a  loan  or  advise  the  intending 
buyer  not  to  risk  his  meager  capital  in  what  is  likely 
to  be  a  losing  venture. 

Few  farm  buyers  get  the  needed  information  and 
advice  from  private  land  salesmen.  Such  salesmen 
make  their  living  out  of  commissions  which  usually 
come  out  of  first  payments.  If  the  prospective  buy- 
ers have  money  enough  to  make  first  payments,  the 
most  seductive  representations  are  made  to  induce 
them  to  take  the  risk.  Even  when  settlers  are  able 
to  borrow  money  for  development  as  at  Durham,  the 
first  year  or  two  may  be  a  time  of  anxiety  with  cer- 
tain risks  which  nothing  can  avert.  There  is  the 
chance  that  the  first  crop  will  be  a  failure,  that  illness 
may  come  to  the  family,  or  that  crop  prices  will  be 
low  and  the  settler's  toil  fail  to  bring  the  expected  re- 
turns. It  is  a  universal  experience  that  many  things 
have  to  be  bought  that  were  not  foreseen.  There  is 
a  tendency  to  spend  money  while  it  lasts  unless  there 
Is  a  definite  budget  to  restrict  spending. 

The  tendency  of  the  actual  cost  to  run  ahead  of 
the  estimated  cost  is  great  in  irrigated  areas  where 
the  surface  has  to  be  checked  and  leveled  so  that 
water  will  flow  over  it  evenly.  The  expense  of  the 
preliminary  work  which  must  be  done  on  high  priced 
land  nearly  always  runs  higher  than  was  anticipated. 

Those  who  urged  that  settlers  without  capital  be 
given  a  chance  did  not  realize  the  revolutionary 
change  which  has  taken  place  in  financing  farm  buy- 
ing In  this  country  in  recent  years.  When  a  pio- 
neer obtained  free  public  land  as  a  homesteader  or 


CAPITAL  REQUIRED  BY  SETTLERS      163 

bought  it  at  a  nominal  price  as  a  part  of  a  state  or 
railroad  land  grant,  there  was  little  or  no  interest  to 
be  paid,  and  the  entire  money  expenses  of  many  a 
homesteader  were  far  less  than  the  yearly  taxes 
which  the  owner  of  a  small  farm  at  Durham  has  had 
to  pay  this  year.  No  capital  was  needed  for  these 
transactions  and  the  settler's  labor  would  earn  all  the 
money  required.  But  when  land  costs  $200  an  acre 
and  $50  an  acre  has  to  be  spent  to  prepare  it  for  irri- 
gation, a  40  acre  farm  means  an  investment  of  $10,- 
000.  Interest  and  taxes  on  this  sum  will  alone  re- 
quire $50  a  month;  and  to  this  must  be  added  the 
high  cost  of  living  before  a  crop  is  grown.  To  im- 
prove a  farm  and  make  it  ready  for  crops  will  re- 
quire a  far  larger  outlay  than  any  inexperienced  per- 
son can  realize. 

The  cost  of  buildings,  horses,  cows,  and  imple- 
ments runs  into  a  staggering  total,  a  total  which  has 
trebled  in  the  last  twenty  years.  Capital  and  credit 
are  the  keys  needed  to  unlock  the  door  to  farm  own- 
ership. Where  these  are  not  required  or  provided, 
the  cry  of  "  Back  to  the  Land  "  is  a  delusion  or  a 
fraud. 

Countries  which  have  made  state  aid  in  land  settle- 
ment a  government  policy  find  that  the  amount  of 
credit  to  be  given  the  settler  and  the  amount  of 
money  that  the  settler  must  furnish,  are  two  things 
that  need  to  be  definitely  and  clearly  understood  both 
by  the  State  and  by  the  settler.  For  on  these  two 
things  depend  the  solvency  of  the  scheme  and  the 
success  of  the  settler.  In  the  closer  settlement  of 
irrigated  land  in  the  State  of  Victoria,  Australia,  it 
was  found  that  an  average  of  $3,750  was  needed  to 


1 64       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

put  a  forty  acre  farm  in  shape  for  a  family  to  live 
on  it  and  earn  a  living  income  from  its  cultivation. 
The  State  asked  only  a  three  per  cent,  cash  payment 
on  the  land  and  made  a  loan  of  what  was  the  equiv- 
alent of  ninety-seven  per  cent,  of  the  land's  cost. 
It  required  that  the  settler  provide  a  third  of  the 
money  needed  to  improve  ?nd  equip  the  farm.  Any 
settler  seeking  a  farm  of  20  acres  or  over  was 
required  to  have  $1,250  in  money  or  approved  equip- 
ment, so  that  the  State's  loan  of  not  more  than 
$2,500  would  bring  the  total  to  $3,750.  After  a 
year's  experience  the  minimum  of  $1,250  was  found 
to  be  too  low  and  the  settler  was  required  to  have 
a  capital  of  $1,500.  Under  this  credit  limit,  settle- 
ment has  gone  on  for  10  years.  In  some  cases  the 
latter  minimum  is  not  enough.  Where  there  is  a 
crop  failure  or  illness  in  the  family,  settlers  have  to 
ask  for  additional  help.  This  is  given  in  worthy 
cases  by  deferring  the  payments  due  on  the  land. 
With  the  consent  of  the  board  such  payments  may 
be  deferred  for  a  period  of  two  years,  the  interest 
on  them  being  added  to  the  debt. 

The  pressing  question  which  the  California  Board 
had  to  decide  was  how  much  capital  the  settler  should 
have  to  supplement  that  which  the  board  could  pro- 
vide. In  deciding  this,  it  had  the  help  of  the  expert 
in  farm  management  of  the  State  University,  who 
gave  the  board  the  following  estimate  of  the  cost  of 
preparing  and  equipping  for  settlement  and  cultiva- 
tion acreage  for  grain,  fruit,  poultry,  dairying,  and 
mixed  farming: 


CAPITAL  REQUIRED  BY  SETTLERS      165 


THE  COST  OF  BUYING  AND  EQUIPPING  A 
FARM 

By  Prof.  R.  L.  Adams 
Table  I 

These  estimates  of  cost  are  made  for  five  representative 
California  farms  as  follows: 

.  Value  Total 

^  per  Acre  Value 

Grain    320  $  60  $19,200 

Fruit    20  120  2,400 

Poultry    10  200  2,000 

Dairy    30  150  4,SOO 

Diversified  farming 40  150  6,000 

The  money  required  for  equipment  is  grouped  under  capi- 
tal FOR  EQUIPMENT,  according  to  the  following  sub- 
heads :  — 

Buildings. 

Fences. 

Implements  and  machinery. 

Work  stock  and  harness. 

Live-stock,  other  than  work  stock,  as  hogs,  poultry,  and  milk 

cows. 
Special  equipment,  as  dairy  or  poultry  equipment. 
Small  tools  and  shop  material. 

For  purposes  of  comparison  and  reference  the  out- 
lays necessary  to  bring  the  various  businesses  to  a 
self-supporting  age  are  condensed  in  the  following 
table : 


1 66      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 


Table  II 
Showinff  cost  of  equipping  different  types  of  farms 

Segregated  costs   (round  numbers) 


Industry 


Grain    

Fruit    

Poultry    

Dairy     

Diversified     farming. 


3,260 
4,809 
5.670 
4,494 


$1,850 
1,300 
1,92s 
2,245 
I.9S0 


V^ 


$783 

65 

950 

65 

302 


E 


$871 

1,438 

84 

403 

432 


^J3 
u 


F2,IS4 

342 
12s 
467 
684 


$100 

25 

1,056 

1,950 
670 


■Se 

v  a 


$69 
20 
639 
470 
386 


o  ^ 

°  B 

7=.  o, 
a  o 
E-g 

1/3 


$100 

70 
30 
70 
70 


SUMMARY  — COST  OF  STARTING  TO  FARM 

Table  IV 

Summary  of  Capital  Requirements 

(Round   Numbers) 


Industry 

Land 

Equip- 
ment 

Estab- 
lishing 

Total  to 
Establish 

Business 

Business 

Grain    . . . 

$I9,2CX) 

$6,000 

$2,850 

$28,050 

Fruit   .... 

2,400 

3,300 

1,500 

7,200 

Poultry   . . 

2,000 

4,800 

1,275 

8,075 

Dairy    . . . 

4,500 

5,700 

2,200 

12,400 

Diversified 

farming 

6,000 

4,500 

2,375 

12,875 

On  four  out  of  the  five  typical  farms,  it  was 
found  that  more  than  $4,500  would  be  needed  to  pay 
for  equipment.  If  living  expenses  to  be  paid  before 
a  living  income  could  be  obtained  from  the  land,  were 
added,  the  outlay  in  each  case  was  over  $6,000.  Ac- 
cording to  this  estimate,  the  first  need  of  the  Cal- 


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167 


1 68       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

ifornia  farm  buyer  is  therefore  a  capital  of  over 
$5,000.  The  average  outlay  of  the  Durham  farm- 
ers for  the  first  year,  nearly  $7,000  per  farm,  con- 
firms these  figures. 

Since  the  above  estimate  was  prepared,  the  costs 
of  labor,  land,  and  material  have  all  so  risen  that 
they  are  now  about  70  per  cent,  above  the  prices 
prevailing  three  years  ago.  The  cost  of  stock  and 
implements  needed  to  farm  a  grain  ranch  of  640 
acres  is  now  between  $6,000  and  $7,000.  That  sum 
would  have  paid  for  the  farm  twenty  years  ago. 
It  has  to  be  realized,  therefore,  that  any  successful 
scheme  for  helping  poor  men  become  farm  owners 
must  do  far  more  than  sell  land  on  easy  terms.  To 
equip  a  poultry  farm  means  an  outlay  in  round  num- 
bers of  $5,000;  to  stock  and  equip  a  dairy  farm  with 
20  cows  costs  $6,000;  while  to  start  a  40  acre  farm 
to  growing  diversified  crops  requires  $4,500. 

By  helping  to  build  houses  and  level  land,  the 
board  thought  that  it  could  lessen  somewhat  the 
settler's  outlay  at  Durham  but  not  enough  to  make 
it  safe  for  him  to  begin  unless  he  could  spend  about 
$4,500  in  making  the  farm  ready  for  earning  a  hving 
income.  According  to  the  California  Act  the  sum 
which  the  board  could  lend  to  a  settler  was  limited 
to  $3,000;  it  ruled  then,  that  the  settler  who  was 
approved  must  have  at  least  $1,500  either  in  money 
or  equipment. 

Settlers  had  to  make  a  cash  payment  of  5  per  cent, 
of  the  cost  of  the  land.  The  California  Board  could 
advance  90  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  the  improve- 
ments; but  since  all  the  money  advanced  by  the  State 
had  to  be  repaid  with  interest,  It  did  not  seem  safe 


CAPITAL  REQUIRED  BY  SETTLERS      169 

to  accept  settlers  who  had  a  capital  of  less  than  10 
per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  the  improved  farm.  The 
board  decided,  therefore,  that  the  settler  must  pay 
40  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  all  improvements  and  that 
it  could  loan  only  up  to  60  per  cent,  of  the  value 
of  livestock.  If  this  was  to  be  the  basis  of  credit, 
it  was  evident  that  the  settler  would  need  $1,500  of 
his  own  and  all  the  money  the  board  could  lend  him 
to  get  started  so  as  to  live  comfortably  and  earn 
enough  money  to  meet  his  payments. 

The  settler  who  started  at  Durham  with  the  min- 
imum capital  has  had  a  hard  struggle  and  he  has  had 
to  secure  all  the  money  the  board  could  lend  him  to 
be  able  to  pull  through  the  first  year.  In  some 
cases,  settlers  who  had  $2,500  each  had  to  borrow 
money  from  the  local  bank  to  complete  their  im- 
provements. There  is  not  a  settler  who  does  not 
believe  that  the  $1,500  capital  required  is  as  low  as 
it  should  be.  The  majority  believe  that  the  mini- 
mum should  be  $3,000. 

Nearly  all  of  the  Durham  settlers  believe  that  if 
the  State  is  to  be  candid  and  fair  with  the  beginner, 
it  should  add  to  this  money  requirement  a  provision 
that  no  one  should  be  accepted  unless  he  has  a  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  farming  in  California.  Anyone 
who  had  seen  the  hard  work,  the  worry,  and  the  fear 
settlers  experience  before  there  is  income  enough  to 
pay  interest  on  the  investment,  meet  Hving  expenses, 
and  make  the  small  payments  of  principal,  will  un- 
derstand that  it  is  not  doing  a  settler  a  kindness  to 
permit  him  to  buy  a  farm  unless  all  the  money  needed 
for  equipment  is  in  sight  and  unless  he  has  had  ex- 
perience in  the  kind  of  work  he  has  before  him.     The 


170      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

applicants  for  farms  at  Durham  were  asked  to  make 
estimates  of  the  money  they  would  need  for  im- 
provements and  expenses;  and  those  who  went  very 
far  astray  were  regarded  as  unsafe. 

No  feature  of  the  first  year's  operations  at  Dur- 
ham has  been  watched  with  more  interest  than  the 
expenditures  on  the  different  farms  as  the  houses 
and  barns  were  built  and  fields  prepared  for  water- 
ings. In  studying  the  records  given  in  the  tables 
which  follow,  it  has  to  be  kept  in  mind  that  the 
settlers  were  nearly  all  experienced  farmers.  Most 
of  them  had  been  tenant  farmers.  The  money  they 
brought  with  them  had  been  accumulated  by  years 
of  hard  work  and  frugal  living.  Yet  to  get  their 
farms  in  shape  to  earn  money,  they  spent  on  each 
farm  the  first  year,  an  average  of  $4,042  for  im- 
provements and  equipment  and  for  all  purposes,  in- 
cluding living  expenses,  an  average  of  $7,343.24. 

A  list  of  the  actual  expenses  of  two  of  the  settlers 
will  show  the  number  and  the  size  of  demands  on 
the  settler's  purse  in  buying  and  improving  a  farm. 

Table  I 

Land,  first  payment $390.00 

Temporary  dwelling 200.00 

Barn 700.00 

Hog  house 60.00 

Fence   250.00 

Well    . .' 240.00 

Preparing  land  for  irrigation   .  700.00 

Ford  car,  second  hand 300.00 

Plow    10.00 

Mower 60.00 

Rake    25.00 


CAPITAL  REQUIRED  BY  SETTLERS     171 

Team 330.00 

Miscellaneous  tools 172.00 

Harness   85.00 

Chicken  house 40.00 

Household  equipment 250.0a 

6  tons  hay 76.00 

Barley  and  mill  feed 250.00 

Cow  1 1 1-75 

3  sows 200.00 

20  pigs 600.00 

74  chickens  74.00 

$5123.75 
Table  II 

Land,  first  payment $  505.00 

Dwelling   11 27.50 

Barn 525.00 

Manger    25.00 

Bridge    15.00 

Small  building   75-00 

Hog  houses  25.00 

Preparing  land  for  irrigation  .  1750.00 

Well    40.00 

Leveling    200.00 

Wagon     125.00 

Cart  and  wagon 40.00 

Gravel  cart 5.00 

Plows,  etc 40.00 

Mower,  rake,  track,  fork  ....  208.24 

Harness   75-00 

Small  tools 75.00 

Parts  and  cans   15.00 

Forks   10.00 

Grinder 7.00 

Hay  rack 25.15 


172      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Household  equipment 500.00 

60  tons  hay 840.00 

II  cows . .  1840.00 

9  heifers 1250.00 

I  calf 30.00 

3  horses 450.00 

Hogs    185.00 

$10007.89 

In  each  of  these  cases  more  than  the  $3,000  which 
the  board  could  lend  the  settler  was  needed  to  stock 
and  improve  the  farm,  although  the  settler  paid  only 
5  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  the  land  and  he  had  the 
board's  help  in  making  improvements  and  planting 
crops.  A  part  of  the  outlay  of  these  two  settlers 
did  not  come  from  capital  but  from  the  income  from 
the  farm  the  first  year.  This,  in  the  case  of  some 
settlers  was  more  than  doubled  by  the  service  ren- 
dered by  the  board  in  putting  in  crops  before  the 
farms  were  allotted.  The  grain  and  alfalfa  crops 
planted  by  the  board  in  19 18  were  bringing  a  return 
a  few  weeks  after  the  settler  went  on  the  land  and 
some  of  the  alfalfa  fields  brought  a  money  return  in 
19 19  of  over  $150  an  acre.  All  of  this  money 
which  could  be  spared  from  living  expenses  was  used 
to  complete  improvements  or  buy  more  equipment. 

It  will  help  to  understand  the  tables  which  follow 
if  some  of  the  working  expenses  and  the  cost  of  live- 
stock are  given. 

In  19 1 8,  it  cost  settlers  from  $36  to  $83.93  an 
acre  to  have  land  leveled,  checked,  and  seeded  to 
alfalfa,  an  average  of  between  $40  and  $45  an  acre. 
In  191 9,  higher  wages  of  men  and  higher  cost  of 


CAPITAL  REQUIRED  BY  SETTLERS     173 

teams  brought  the  average  price  of  preparing  and 
seeding  land  to  alfalfa  up  to  $55  an  acre. 

In  19 1 8,  the  settler  could  hire  one  man  and  four 
horses  for  $7.00  a  day  and  he  paid  only  for  the  days 
on  which  work  was  actually  done.  Early  in  19 19, 
the  price  had  risen  to  $10.00  a  day  and  the  settler 
had  to  pay  for  each  working  day  whether  the  man 
and  team  worked  or  not.  Now  farmers  who  have 
rice  to  harvest  are  offering  $12.00  a  day  with  board 
for  a  man  and  team. 

The  following  are  prices  paid  by  settlers  for 
livestock : 

Horses      about   $175.00  each 

Cows     /Registered  one  herd 250.00  each 

\  Later  purchases  up  to 800.00  each 

Grade  Cows   loo.oo  to  330.00 

Hogs      T 

Regis-     1^°^®    150.00  to  250.00 

tered       J  G>'ts     75.00  to  175.00 

^      ,       f  Sows     45.00  to     65.00 

Grades  -i  ^.,.  . 

(^  Gilts    35-00  to     50.00 

The  easiest  part  of  the  financing  at  Durham  has 
been  the  sale  and  the  improvement  of  the  26  farm 
laborers'  allotments.  The  Act  limited  the  value  of 
the  land  which  could  be  sold  to  a  farm  worker  to 
$400.  As  the  allotments  were  located  where  the 
land  in  farms  was  valued  at  $230  an  acre,  the  area 
of  the  laborer's  allotment  had  to  be  less  than  two 
acres.  The  Act  has  since  been  amended  so  that  the 
farm  worker's  land  may  have  a  value  of  $1,000. 

The  farm  worker's  allotments  were  opened  to 
settlement  in  two  units,  the  first  unit  in  June  19 18, 
the  second  in  November  19 18.  The  average  in- 
come, expenses,  and  capital  of  those  who  settled  in 


174      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

June,  both  farmers  and  farm  laborers,  are  given  in 
the  table  which  follows : 


Table  I 

Table  of  Areas,  Expenses  and  Incomes  on  Farms  and  Allot- 
ments First  Settled 

Average 

Average  of  Farm 

of  Farms  Laborers' 
Allotments 

Average  Area                                     52.08  Acres  1.72  acres 

Average  price  of  land  per  acre $  191.70  $  232.00 

"        cost  of  farm  or  farm  allot.. .     8872.06  399-04 

"         first  payment   444-32  19-95 

"        amount     advanced     by    the 

State  on   land    ^...     8427.74  379-oo 

"        half-yearly  installment   ....       332.91  15.16 

"        value  of  improvements 3168.85  828.09 

"         payment   by   settler   on    im- 
provements made  by  State       332.92  107.06 
"         amount    advanced    by    State 
on       improvements       and 

equipment    561.95  1^4-79 

"        half-yearly    installment    on 

improvements   13-29  4-61 

"        value  of  livestock  1569.92  186.46 

"         value  of  equipment 1382.19  314-92 

"         initial   capital    6232.98  789.37 

"        present  capital    6993.03  1285.32 

"         increase  in  net  worth 760.05  495-95 

"         cash  at  start 4564.48  479-S8 

"        income  from  farm  and  out- 
side   labor    2057.14  870.82 

"        cash  paid  out  from  cash  on 

hand  and  income   6313.17  1272.72 

"        money  spent  on  place 7343.24  1489.75 

"        balance    of    cash    on    hand, 

June  30,   1919    477-36  108.23 

"        money  spent  for  buildings..     1704.70 
"        money  spent  for  fencing 163.26 


CAPITAL  REQUIRED  BY  SETTLERS     175 

Average 
Average  of  Farm 

of  Farms  Laborers' 

Allotments 
Average  Area  52.08  Acres  ^•^^  acres 

Average    money    spent    for    leveling 

and  checking  619.61 

"         money  spent  for  stock 893.78 

"         money   spent   for   equipment       661.15 

"  money  spent  for  living  ex- 
penses           480.00 

"  money  spent  for  operating 
expense  (seed,  feed,  labor 
etc.)    1479-84 

"  money  spent  for  drugs,  doc- 
tor's bills,  trips  on  pleas- 
sure  and  the  like 311.16 

Every  settler  in  the  Durham  colony  has  felt  that 
the  sooner  he  could  get  his  farm  fully  improved,  the 
better  his  chance  of  success.  No  one  delayed  work 
because  labor  and  other  costs  were  high.  No  one 
has  wasted  his  money  and  little  has  been  lost  through 
mistakes.  All  have  worked  hard;  from  sun  up  to 
sun  down  has  been  the  rule.  Six  have  lost  money  on 
the  year's  operations;  that  is,  the  income  from  their 
farms  has  not  provided  living  expenses  and  the  money 
needed  to  pay  interest  and  other  charges.  The  loss 
in  two  cases  was  caused  by  sickness;  in  two  others 
by  the  settlers'  holding  on  to  salaried  jobs  for  the 
full  six  months  allowed  by  the  Act  before  beginning 
improvements.  In  the  latter  case  the  salaries  pro- 
vided the  settlers  a  living,  but  interest  charges  on  the 
debt  for  land  unused  were  mounting  up.  Two  set- 
tlers lost  stock  from  an  epidemic  of  anthrax  which 
swept  through  the  Sacramento  Valley. 

Those  who  went  on  their  farms  and  began  to  plant 
crops  and  milk  cows  as  soon  as  possible  have  made 


176      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Table  II 
Money  Spent  Improving  Farms  of  First  Unit 

Leveling 
No.  of  _  ....    „   .      and 

Allotment       ^^'l^^^SS   Fencing    checking 

Land 


Stock 


iis6 

157  &  158 

159 
160 
z6i 
162 
163 
164 
165 
166 
167 
168 
169 
170 
171 
17* 
173 
174- 
17s 
176 
177 
178 
179 
180 
i8z 
182 

183 
184 
18s 
186 
187 
188 
189 
190 


$  140 
4757 

lOII 

2650 
960 
535 

3150 
550 

3120 
225 

1035 
570 

1607 
925 

1090 

737 
1526 
4990 
1023 
2650 
4850 
6000 
1900 

800 
1010 

720 

950 
1792 
1250 

380 
1200 
2100 

1365 
402 


$  98 
60 

100 
250 
120 

30+ 
280 
100 

42s 

15 

408 

367 
200 

850 
257 
400 

500 


200 
130 

25 
200 
100 
128 

34 


$  65 

1720 

693 

443 
1005 

423 
1700 

327 
673 

550 
410 
100 

725 

380 

80 

1460 
346 
112 
100 
200 
690 
800 

250 

431 

1887 

784 

8cx) 

100 

160 

1185 

1827 

666 


825 

50 

660 

385 
475 
3081 
633 
903 
800 
884 

505 

880 

24 

2500 
472 

2173 

1400 

300 
2041 
3205 

105 
220 

400 
15CXD 

225 
1255 

80 


Equip' 
ment 


$  ...» 

649 

18s 
400 
507 
591 
1378 
305 
555 

630 

757 

137 

1619 

40 

1414 

100 

130 

429 

2403 

667 

1125 

1865 

1147 

990 

78 

768 

75 


n8o    486 

1050   1286 

590    441 


Average  1704.70  163.26    619.61   893.78   661.15 

1  The  numbers  in  this  column  are  not  the  actual  numbers  of  the 
blocks. 


CAPITAL  REQUIRED  BY  SETTLERS     177 

the  best  showing.  The  three  with  the  largest  in- 
comes owned  the  most  livestock.  Milk  and  alfalfa 
have  been  the  two  big  items-  in  settlers'  incomes. 
On  eight  farms  the  first  year's  income  averaged  over 
$3,000,  the  highest  being  nearly  $4,500.  The  cash 
capital  of  the  farmers  ranged  from  $500  to  $15,000, 
The  farm  laborers  had  a  good  year.  Wages  were 
high.  There  was  plenty  of  work.  The  produce 
from  their  gardens  had  ready  sale  in  Chico.  This 
explains  the  remarkable  average  income  of  $870. 
One  farm  worker  who  has  a  team  had  a  gross  income 
of  more  than  twice  the  average. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  FINANCIAL  LESSONS  OF  THE  DURHAM 
SETTLEMENT 

January  ist,  1920,  was  the  date  on  which  settlers 
were  to  pay  the  third  semi-annual  installment  on  their 
farms.  They  had  paid  the  two  earlier  ones,  which 
was  as  gratifying  as  it  was  unusual  in  California  col- 
onies in  the  first  two  years  of  their  existence.  A  part 
of  the  money  for  the  earlier  payments  had  come  from 
the  capital  they  brought  with  them.  This  had,  how- 
ever, all  been  spent.  It  had  gone  to  buy  livestock,  to 
make  payments  on  improvements,  and  to  pay  living 
expenses.  This  third  payment,  if  made,  had  to  come 
from  money  received  from  farm  products.  It  had  to 
come  also  from  the  surplus  income  after  living  ex- 
penses had  been  met.  The  amount  of  the  payment 
would  therefore  be  an  indication  of  the  solvency  of 
the  enterprise  and  of  the  determination  of  the  set- 
tlers to  keep  faith  with  the  board. 

The  payment  was  a  large  one.  The  half-yearly 
installment  is  about  $40,000.  It  had  been  preceded 
by  a  heavy  tax  payment  on  the  land,  which  every 
settler  had  paid.  On  January  5th  the  superinten- 
dent reported  that  of  the  $40,000,  $S4,ooo  had  been 
paid  and  that  all  or  practically  all  would  be  paid  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  month.  Some  settlers  paid  more 
than  was  due.     The  board  was  able  to  meet  from 

178 


FINANCIAL  LESSONS  179 

this  income  all  its  obligations,  including  an  interest 
payment  to  the  State  of  the  money  the  State  had 
advanced. 

So  far  as  California  is  concerned,  the  Durham 
State  Land  Settlement  is  a  money  making  venture. 
The  county  in  which  it  is  located  will  collect  from 
taxes  on  the  land  $10,000  more  than  it  did  when  this 
land  was  owned  by  two  non-residents.  The  taxes  on 
improvements  will  be  far  greater  than  before  settle- 
ment, as  they  include  over  one  hundred  new  houses 
and  new  barns  and  many  additional  herds  of  blooded 
livestock. 

Even  if  no  money  had  been  paid  by  the  settlers  the 
enterprise  would  have  been  solvent,  bcause  during 
the  last  six  months  the  settlers  had  spent  more  than 
double  the  payment  in  farm  improvements.  These 
included  barns,  silos,  preparing  land  for  irriga- 
tion, seeding  fields  to  alfalfa,  making  ready  for 
orchards,  building  dairy  barns  to  produce  Grade  A. 
milk. 

The  value  of  the  property  is  fully  double  what  it 
was  when  the  board  bought  it.  All  the  improve- 
ments which  the  board  agreed  to  make  have  been 
completed.  Hereafter  its  expenses  will  be  limited  to 
administration.  The  engineering  staff,  the  horses, 
the  tools  and  implements,  and  the  tractor,  used  in 
development,  have  been  sent  to  another  locality  and 
are  being  used  in  preparing  another  settlement. 
The  difference  between  what  the  board  owes  the 
State  and  what  the  settlers  owe  the  board  will  far 
more  than  meet  the  expenses  of  administration. 
From  a  financial  standpoint  this  settlement  may  be 
forgotten. 


i8o       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

This  unique  record  in  meeting  payments  promptly 
and  in  the  full  amount  has  been  made  possible  be- 
cause the  board  helped  settlers  speed  up  develop- 
ment, helped  build  their  houses,  plant  crops,  buy  live- 
stock, and  find  a  market  for  the  milk  of  the  dairy 
herds.  If  aid  had  ended  with  lending  the  money  at 
a  low  rate  of  interest,  few  would  have  made  a  living 
the  first  year.  To  begin  with,  they  could  not  have 
got  their  land  ready  and  planted  crops  in  time.  It 
was  the  action  of  the  board  in  contracting  for  teams, 
buying  a  75  horsepower  tractor,  cultivating  the 
ground,  and  planting  crops  when  the  ground  was  too 
dry  and  hard  to  be  worked  with  the  settlers'  teams, 
that  made  the  financial  returns  the  first  year  so 
satisfactory. 

Only  those  who  have  seen  the  individual  settler 
struggle  with  the  obstacles  which  irrigated  agricul- 
ture presents  can  understand  how  costly  and  dis- 
couraging it  is  to  work  alone.  Teams  or  engine 
power,  the  implements  that  the  settler  cannot  afford, 
are  the  time  saving,  money  saving,  and  money  mak- 
ing agencies  of  the  first  year.  Getting  the  right  kind 
of  start  is  perhaps  the  most  important  thing  in  a 
planned  rural  development,  but  following  that  there 
is  a  second  critical  period  in  which  oftentimes  the 
stimulus  of  an  outsider  is  needed  to  bring  the  desired 
results. 

There  comes  a  time  when  the  farm  earns  living 
expenses  but  not  enough  above  this  to  meet  payments 
on  the  settler's  debt.  When  this  period  arrives  the 
settler  who  has  been  speeded  up  by  the  enthusiasm 
and  excitement  of  becoming  a  farm  owner,  is  apt  to 
relax.     This   is   particularly  true   of  middle   aged 


FINANCIAL  LESSONS  i8i 

settlers  who  come  to  the  new  undertaking  with  a 
small  capital,  because  In  the  past  they  have  been  con- 
tented with  simply  earning  a  living.  The  sugges- 
tions and  sometimes  the  admonitions  of  the  superin- 
tendent are  of  special  value  to  this  class  of  settler. 

One  settler  at  Durham,  in  the  second  critical 
period,  had  grown  fodder  enough  to  feed  20  cows 
but  was  milking  only  eight  and  from  these  had  an 
income  of  $100  a  month  from  milk  sales.  That 
would  have  met  all  his  living  expenses,  but  it  would 
be  only  about  half  the  Income  he  must  have  if  he 
were  to  be  a  solvent  member  of  the  colony.  There 
was  feed  for  20  cows  on  the  farm  and  enough  help 
in  the  family  to  milk  them.  With  a  herd  of  twenty 
the  income  would  be  $250  a  month.  But  to  buy  the 
extra  cows  the  settler  had  to  go  in  debt  and  the  whole 
family  had  to  lead  a  busier  life.  Without  the  super- 
intendent at  his  elbow,  this  settler  would  very  likely 
take  life  easy  until  he  got  into  arrears.  He  needed 
a  business  mind  to  encourage  him  and  induce  him  to 
increase  his  herd. 

The  superintendent  explained  how  the  board 
would  lend  him  money  to  buy  the  cows  not  reluctantly 
but  willingly.  He  learned  that  by  borrowing  money 
he  could  not  only  more  than  double  his  Income  but 
also  improve  his  credit.  He  got  a  new  idea  of  his 
business  partnership  with  the  State  and  started  in 
with  renewed  enthusiasm  and  fresh  energy. 

The  fine  milking  herds  at  Durham  have  been 
largely  purchased  with  money  loaned  by  the  board. 
These  loans  are  only  made  to  farmers  who  have  an 
assured  food  supply.  One  settler  who  borrowed 
$1200  now  has  a  cream  check  of  $180  a  month.     He 


i82       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

will  pay  off  the  loan  in  three  years  and  have  enough 
surplus  to  meet  his  land  payments.  A  loan  of  $864 
to  buy  more  cows  has  increased  another  settler's 
monthly  cream  check  from  $80  to  $160.  It  is  ex- 
pected that  within  the  next  three  months,  loans  to 
settlers  to  help  increase  their  dairy  herds  will  reach 
close  to  $100,000  and  will  increase  the  yearly  in- 
comes from  cream  sales  to  four  or  five  times  what 
they  were  before  the  loans  were  made. 

Generous  loans  of  money  are  not  of  themselves 
enough.  The  profits  of  farming,  even  under  the 
best  conditions,  are  so  small  that  the  best  kind  of 
management,  constant  economy,  and  good  cultivation 
are  essential  if  a  settler  is  to  earn  more  than  a  living. 
In  order  to  pay  for  a  farm  bought  at  the  prevailing 
high  land  prices,  one  must  bring  the  earning  power 
of  the  land  to  the  highest  limit. 

To  reach  such  limit  necessitates  cooperation  in 
buying  and  selling.  It  necessitates  also  group  settle- 
ment with  the  resulting  hope  and  courage  in  the 
hearts  of  many  families  living  in  the  same  manner 
and  battling  against  the  same  obstacles.  Paying  for 
a  farm  is  an  enterprise  which  requires  not  only  co- 
operation between  families  but  also  cooperation 
within  the  family.  If  the  wife  and  the  children  feel 
this  and  work  as  partners  in  the  enterprise,  their 
work  will  not  become  laborious.  On  the  farm,  chil- 
dren are  an  asset.  They  can  do  light  farm  work  as 
well  as  it  can  be  done  by  men;  and  they  will  be 
healthier  and  happier  from  doing  it,  if  they  have  a 
share  in  the  return.  Boys  and  girls  can  help  pick 
fruit,  care  for  gardens,  look  after  chickens,  and  feed 
stock.     If  the  hours  are  not  too  long,  such  work  can 


FINANCIAL  LESSONS  183 

be  made  as  light  and  healthful  as  play.  If  children 
are  given  a  share  in  the  income  they  are  proud  to 
become  working  partners  in  the  enterprise;  they  will 
be  interested  in  their  work  and  eager  to  do  their 
share. 

That  farming  Is  not  wholly  a  man's  work  is  quite 
clear  to  every  one  who  has  watched  the  settlers  in 
Australia  or  at  Durham  during  the  early  years  when 
the  struggle  to  get  money  enough  to  carry  on  the 
work  of  the  farm  was  unending.  The  wife  is  so 
great  a  factor  that,  In  the  selection  of  settlers,  the 
fitness  of  the  wife  should  probably  have  the  same  at- 
tention as  the  experience  and  character  of  the  hus- 
band. It  Is  an  old  and  true  saying  that  the  farmer's 
wife  can  throw  out  more  with  the  spoon  than  the 
husband  can  bring  In  with  the  shovel.  But  the 
value  of  the  wife  as  a  partner  does  not  depend  merely 
on  her  skill  and  economy  as  a  housewife.  She  can 
be  a  model  household  manager  and  yet  if  she  hates 
farm  life,  she  will  likely  be  a  failure  as  a  farmer's 
wife.  Buying  a  farm  may  be  to  her  not  an  adven- 
ture, but  a  crucifixion.  In  too  many  American  farm 
homes  the  man  alone  Is  Interested  In  farming.  The 
wife  longs  for  the  city.  This  Is  due  mainly  to  two 
things,  the  removal  from  the  farm  of  many  Industries 
for  women  In  which  knowledge  and  skill  could  be 
shown  and  the  absence  of  training  in  farm  work  in 
our  schools.  Every  one  likes  to  do  the  things  he  can 
do  well.  The  daughters  of  the  tenant  farmers  of 
Scotland  who  complete  the  course  In  the  dairy  school 
at  Kilmarnock  get  a  better  preparation  for  a  useful 
and  happy  life  on  the  farm  than  the  American  coun- 
try girl  gets  in  the  country  high  school. 


1 84       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  more  the  farmer's  wife  knows  about  farming 
operations,  about  the  tillage  needed  to  give  large 
crop  yields,  about  the  good  and  bad  points  In  an 
animal,  about  how  to  set  a  hen  and  raise  chickens,  the 
keener  will  be  her  Interest  In  rural  life  and  the  more 
likely  she  will  be  to  resist  the  lure  of  the  city.  If 
she  knows  what  Is  being  done  and  how  It  should  be 
done,  there  Is  far  less  danger  of  her  finding  the  daily 
Ife  dull  and  tiresome.  The  cheer  and  courage  of  the 
wife  and  mother  Is  such  a  large  factor  In  success  that 
more  must  be  done  to  fit  her  for  her  part  in  the 
enterprise. 

As  the  cost  of  financing  a  farm  has  increased,  more 
attention  has  been  given  In  both  Denmark  and  Aus- 
tralia to  the  training  and  experience  of  applicants. 
To-day  no  one  In  Denmark  Is  accepted  who  cannot 
show  that  he  Is  skilled  In  farm  work  and  has  worked 
on  a  farm  at  least  one  year.  In  the  different  Aus- 
tralian States,  If  the  applicant  can  show  that  he 
knows  how  to  farm  well  and  that  he  has  had  actual 
experience  with  local  conditions,  he  can  get  a  farm 
on  the  minimum  capital;  while  the  inexperienced 
man  is  often  rejected  no  matter  how  much  capital 
he  has. 

When  farms  were  being  carved  out  of  the  fertile 
prairies  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  or  out  of  the  forests 
in  the  East  and  South,  when  corn  sold  for  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty-five  cents  a  bushel,  the  farmer's  train- 
ing, his  skill  as  a  cultivator  and  his  ability  as  a  trader 
were  not  vital  factors  in  his  success.  Increases  in 
land  price  rather  than  income  from  crops  were  the 
chief  source  of  rural  wealth.  The  unskilled  farmer 
did  almost  as  well  as  the  skilled  one.     If  he  made  a 


FINANCIAL  LESSONS  185 

living  and  held  on  to  his  land,  the  unearned  incre- 
ment did  the  rest.  But  to-day  high  prices  of  land 
and  of  labor  require  the  use  of  all  the  skill  that 
science  and  training  can  give. 

In  a  recent  conference  with  the  settlers  at  Durham 
it  was  pointed  out  that  a  new  area  was  soon  to  be 
offered  to  homeseekers.  In  order  to  give  people  in 
the  second  settlement  the  benefit  of  all  that  had  been 
learned  in  the  first,  the  board  asked  for  suggestions 
regarding  changes  in  the  conditions  under  which 
settlers  should  be  accepted. 

All  the  Durham  settlers  were  of  the  opinion  that 
no  one  should  be  accepted  unless  he  had  lived  on  a 
farm  in  California  and  unless  he  knew  how  to  do 
the  kind  of  work  he  would  have  to  do  on  the  farm 
applied  for.  Many  thought  that  no  family  should 
be  accepted  if  the  wife  had  not  lived  on  a  farm. 
They  said  that  wives  who  had  lived  in  cities  and 
who  did  not  understand  farming  operations  were 
uninterested  in  the  new  farms  and  were  as  a  rule 
lonesome  and  easily  discouraged. 

Fifty  years  ago  people  liked  to  live  in  the  country 
because  the  farm  was  a  center  of  arts  and  industries. 
Cloth  and  carpets  were  woven  on  the  farm;  butter, 
cheese,  and  breadmaking  were  rural  industries.  A 
cobbler's  bench  to  repair  shoes  and  harness  and  a 
kit  of  carpenter's  tools  were  found  on  every  good 
farm.  Nearly  everything  that  the  family  ate  was 
grown  on  the  farm  and  the  children  were  trained  in 
a  wide  variety  of  crafts  outside  of  farming  opera- 
tions. As  the  arts  and  industries  of  the  farm  were 
stolen  away  by  the  cities,  country  life  became  nar- 
rower and  more  monotonous. 


1 86       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  arts  and  industries  will  not  return,  but  their 
place  is  being  taken  by  the  new  care,  skill,  and  knowl- 
edge of  cultivation  and  marketing  required  by  high 
priced  crops.  The  interest  and  the  ability  needed  to 
breed  and  sell  pedigreed  stock  are  worthy  substitutes. 
The  boys'  and  girls'  pig  clubs  and  stock  judging  con- 
tests are  moves  in  the  right  direction,  which  will  be 
strengthened  when  we  give  to  the  training  of  the  girl 
the  same  attention  that  is  being  given  to  the  training 
of  the  boy.  Dean  Hunt  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia hopes  to  establish  in  connection  with  the  Uni- 
versity training  farms  for  both  boys  and  girls  similar 
to  those  at  Odensee  in  Denmark. 

Successful  farming  demands  that  in  all  rural 
schools  more  attention  should  be  given  to  the  prac- 
tical training  of  girls  and  women.  Our  schools  to- 
day fail  to  give  them  the  knowledge  needed  to  make 
farm  life  attractive  and  make  no  attempt  to  develop 
the  skill  that  would  help  make  their  future  tasks 
sources  of  pride  and  satisfaction.  Practical  training 
for  farm  life  should  take  up  such  topics  as  those  in 
the  following  rough  outhne : — 

I.  The  Housewife. 

(a)  Duties  of  the  housewife,  moral,  social  —  principles 

of  domestic  economy. 

(b)  Instruction  relating  to  infants  and  children. 

(c)  Hygiene  —  care  of  invalids. 

(d)  The  care  of  the  house,  furniture,  utensils,  etc. 

(e)  Feeding  the  family,   comparative  value  of   foods, 

using  the  produce  of  the  farm  and  garden. 

(f )  Cutting  out,  making,  repairing  clothes  and  linen. 

(g)  Washing. 

(h)   "  Agriculturalising  "  the  good  housewife. 


FINANCIAL  LESSONS  187 

2.  The  Woman  in  Relation  to  the  Farm. 

(a)  The  domestic  animals,  dairying,  rabbits,  bees,  etc. 

(b)  Agriculture  (a  few  underlying  principles)  the  soil, 

manures. 

3.  The  Housewife  and  the  Garden. 

4.  The  Country  Woman  and  Society,  Institutes,  Clubs,  Co- 

operation, etc. 

A  farm  school  for  girls  and  boys  is  one  of  the 
things  that  will  soon  be  needed  at  Durham.  The  en- 
vironment of  the  two  or  three  hundred  children  on 
the  farms  and  the  cooperative  enterprises  of  the  set- 
tlement are  unique  educational  influences  that  should 
be  supplemented  by  a  definite  course  of  schooling. 

The  Durham  settlement  is  no  longer  an  experi- 
ment. It  is  a  solvent  undertaking  which  should  be 
a  valuable  example  for  the  rest  of  the  country. 
Since  none  of  the  other  States  have  outlined  definite 
plans  for  land  settlement,  they  are  in  a  position  to 
make  full  use  of  all  the  teachings  of  the  first  Cali- 
fornia State  Settlement.  These  may  be  summarized 
as  follows: 

1.  All  the  factors  that  control  health  and  produc- 
tion should  be  studied  before  land  is  bought. 

2.  The  price  to  be  paid  for  land  should  be  fixed 
on  what  can  be  made  from  its  cultivation.  In  Cali- 
fornia safe  tax  free  securities  can  be  bought  at  prices 
which  give  a  net  income  of  5  per  cent.  Taking  5  per 
cent,  as  the  income  basis,  the  capital  value  of  land 
would  be  the  net  income  from  crops  multiplied  by  20. 
If  the  net  income  from  the  land  after  taxes,  upkeep, 
and  labor  costs  have  been  deducted  is  $60,  the  land 
should  be  worth  $120  an  acre.  If  the  net  income 
either  from  rents  or  crops  is  20  an  acre,  then  the  land 
should  be  worth  $400  an  acre. 


i88       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

There  are,  however,  large  areas  of  unimproved 
land  with  great  possibilities,  but  with  no  actual  in- 
come or  scarcely  enough  to  pay  taxes.  The  pur- 
chase price  of  such  land  depends  on  what  it  will  cost 
to  improve  and  equip  the  farms.  Where  irrigation 
is  necessary,  these  costs  are  always  underestimated 
and  the  price  of  the  unimproved  land  is  put  too  high. 

3.  Only  groups  or  colony  settlement  should  be  at- 
tempted. Where  the  credit  of  settlers  is  based  on 
character  and  on  the  returns  which  can  be  obtained 
from  good  cultivation  and  management,  the  use  of 
the  money  which  is  loaned  must  be  watched  care- 
fully. This  can  be  done  only  when  the  men  who 
control  credit  are  in  close  personal  contact  with  the 
settlers  and  their  farms.  Those  in  control  of  credit 
must  be  in  a  position  to  see  all  the  time  whether  the 
colonists  are  saving,  industrious,  and  efficient. 

4.  Cooperation  is,  or  soon  will  be,  an  essential  of 
rural  progress.  It  serves  to  lessen  the  amount  of 
credit  required.  It  effects  a  great  saving  as  in  buy- 
ing pure  bred  bulls,  boars,  and  rams  for  the  com- 
munity instead  of  for  each  farmer  and  as  in  buying 
for  the  community,  tillage  implements  which  the 
single  farm  cannot  afford.  The  community  tractor 
and  implements  for  cultivation  in  use  at  Durham 
cost  $12,000.  No  settler  could  have  bought  these; 
yet  half  the  settlers  would  have  lost  money  the  first 
year  if  they  had  not  had  the  help  of  these  implements 
in  preparing  land  for  crops.  The  millc  chilling  and 
separating  plant  is  saving  settlers  thousands  of  dol- 
lars, but  it  had  to  be  built  on  community  cooperation 
and  credit.  No  single  settler  or  small  group  of 
settlers  could  have  made  it  a  success. 


FINANCIAL  LESSONS  189 

Recently  the  Durham  stock  buying  committee  at- 
tended a  dispersal  sale  of  a  fine  Holstein  herd.  Its 
purchases  cost  $6,000.  To  pay  this  It  had  to  have 
short  time  credit,  for  the  cows  had  to  be  brought 
to  the  settlement  so  that  the  settlers  could  Inspect 
them  and  arrange  for  payments.  The  Cooperative 
Association  has  such  credit.  It  borrowed  the  needed 
money  from  the  Durham  bank  at  6  per  cent.  Interest. 
An  Isolated  Individual  settler  or  a  small  unorganized 
group  of  settlers  could  not  have  done  this. 

5.  Every  settler  should  have  enough  capital  to 
protect  the  State  against  loss  which  might  come  from 
lack  of  thrift  or  experience  on  his  part  and  to  protect 
him  by  a  reserve  of  credit  in  case  he  should  be  un- 
able from  any  cause  to  meet  his  payments.  The 
minimum  should  not  be  less  than  10  per  cent,  of  the 
cost  on  the  improved  farm. 

6.  Title  to  the  land  should  be  retained  by  the 
State  for  at  least  ten  years.  During  that  time  resi- 
dence on  the  land  by  the  owner  or  some  member  of 
his  family  should  be  required,  but  sickness  should  be 
a  reason  for  waiving  this  requirement.  The  need 
for  restrictions  on  tenure  are  greater  In  America 
than  in  almost  any  other  country  because  the  beset- 
ting sin  of  the  American  land  buyer  is  his  practice  of 
thinking  of  a  farm  not  as  a  permanent  home  but  as 
something  to  be  sold  at  a  profit.  The  effort  of  the 
State  to  help  men  become  homeowners  would  be 
worse  than  thrown  away.  If  the  farms  it  provided 
were  to  be  trafficked  in  by  dealers. 

7.  While  the  tenure  should  prevent  speculation, 
it  should  safeguard  ownership.  Both  men  and 
women  will  work  harder  and  with  greater  satisfaction 


190      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

to  become  owners  than  they  will  to  secure  any  form 
of  leasehold  tenure.  If  It  were  not  for  this,  a  per- 
petual leasehold  with  the  title  to  the  land  held  by  the 
government  would  have  a  decided  advantage.  It 
would  enable  the  settler  to  use  all  his  capital  for  im- 
provements since  none  would  be  needed  for  payments 
on  the  land.  A  perpetual  lease,  with  the  right  of 
children  to  inherit,  gives  as  secure  a  tenure  as  a  free- 
hold title  where  the  land  may  be  sold  for  unpaid 
taxes. 

8.  Land  should  be  so  prepared  as  to  enable  the 
settler  to  derive  an  income  as  soon  as  possible. 
Where  land  has  to  be  Irrigated,  water  for  irrigation 
should  be  provided  before  the  land  is  offered  to 
settlers.  The  smaller  the  settler's  capital,  the 
more  desirable  it  is  that  a  part  of  the  land  should  be 
in  crop.  Arrangements  for  lending  money  and  help- 
ing to  build  houses  should  always  be  features  of 
planned  development. 

9.  In  planning  a  group  or  community  settlement 
where  settlers  are  to  be  aided  with  advice  and  credit, 
provision  should  be  made  for  meeting  the  following 
overhead  expenses : —  Interest  and  upkeep  expenses 
on  headquarters  grounds  and  buildings;  the  salaries 
and  expenses  of  a  superintendent,  a  stenographer,  a 
bookkeeper,  a  farmstead  engineer,  and  the  foremen 
needed  to  oversee  the  early  development.  If  the 
land  has  to  be  drained  or  irrigated,  the  salaries  and 
expenses  of  an  engineering  staff  must  be  Included. 

These  overhead  expenses  will  be  heavy  for  the 
first  five  years.  After  that,  bookkeeping  and  collec- 
tions will  be  the  main  expense  Items,  unless  the  gov- 
ernment,   as   it  has   done   in  Australia,   becomes   a 


FINANCIAL  LESSONS  191 

partner  with  the  community  in  cooperative  factories. 
10.  The  number  of  settlers  must  be  large  enough 
to  create  a  distinct  community  life, —  to  encourage 
them  to  adopt  new  and  improved  methods  of  farm- 
ing, to  have  pure  bred  stock,  and  to  buy  and  sell  co- 
operatively. This  number  will  vary  in  different  sec- 
tions. In  England  100  holdings  have  been  made 
the  minimum.  In  most  sections  of  this  country,  the 
minimum  should  never  be  less  than  100;  and  200 
would  give  better  results. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

HOMES  FOR  SOLDIERS 

All  of  the  English  speaking  countries  except  the 
United  States  have  passed  special  soldier  settlement 
legislation  and  made  appropriations  therefor. 
Where  good  free  land  exists,  that  is  offered  to 
soldiers.  But  even  when  such  free  land  exists,  ex- 
service  men  are  commonly  given  assistance  in  buy- 
ing private  land.  In  some  cases  private  land  is 
purchased  by  the  state  in  blocks  and  sold  to  in- 
dividuals in  small  tracts.  In  England,  New  Zea- 
land, and  the  Australian  states  of  Victoria  and 
New  South  Wales,  the  government  has  been  buying 
privately  owned  land  as  homes  for  soldiers.  Land 
settlement  boards  that  existed  before  the  war 
have  had  soldier  settlement  added  to  their  duties. 
Where  land  boards  did  not  already  exist,  they  have 
been  created,  except  in  some  of  the  Canadian  prov- 
inces where  the  Minister  of  Lands  or  of  i\griculture 
and  Forestry  assumes  the  functions  of  a  board. 

Placing  soldiers  on  farms  and  giving  them  aid 
and  direction  are  largely  in  the  hands  of  local  com- 
mittees. Canada  and  Australia,  which  have  fed- 
eral governments,  have  worked  out  plans  for  co- 
operation between  the  states  and  the  central  govern- 
ment. Usually  the  central  government  provides  the 
money  and  the  states  have  direct  and  responsible 

192 


HOMES  FOR  SOLDIERS  193 

charge  of  placing  the  settlers  and  helping  them  to 
get  established. 

Some  training  and  some  practical  farm  experience 
are  expected  of  the  soldier.  If  applicants  do  not 
have  these,  they  are  provided  from  three  main 
sources :  employment  on  farms,  special  courses  in 
Agricultural  Colleges,  and  special  training  on  farms 
associated  with  the  soldier  settlements. 

Aid  to  the  soldier  in  the  above  English  speaking 
countries,  aside  from  the  United  States,  takes  a  va- 
riety of  forms.  There  are,  first,  the  allowances 
which  are  given  a  soldier  for  himself  and  family  in 
the  probationary  period  of  working  and  beginning  of 
experience,  such  as  the  transportation  which  all  of 
the  countries  offer  the  soldiers  when  they  are  travel- 
ing to  training  stations  or  to  the  land;  second,  either 
the  giving  of  land  or  the  selling  of  it  to  the  soldier 
at  the  cost  of  purchase  and  subdivision;  third,  the 
supplying  of  advice,  guidance,  and  instructions; 
fourth,  the  supply  of  grading,  farm  tools,  and  some- 
times farm  animals  free  or  at  cost  (under  this  head 
may  be  mentioned  the  supply  of  seeds  and  fertiliz- 
ers) ;  fifth,  credit  advanced  for  the  taking  up  of 
mortgages  and  incumbrances,  for  clearing,  leveling, 
and  ditching  of  lands,  for  erection  of  fences,  build- 
ings, barns,  and  houses,  for  the  building  of  homes; 
sixth,  assistance  in  the  organization  and  maintenance 
of  cooperative  buying  and  selling  associations. 

In  every  instance  the  payments  for  the  land  or 
for  the  reimbursement  of  the  state  for  advances 
are  stretched  over  a  long  period  of  time.  The 
period  of  payment  varies  from  20  years,  as  in  On- 
tario, to  36)^   years,  as  in  the  Australian  states. 


194      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Advances  for  stock  and  developments  are  repayable 
in  from  5  to  25  years.  The  interest  charged  is 
seldom  more  than  ^  cent  more  than  the  interest 
paid  on  public  securities. 

Soldier  settlement  is  as  important  in  America  as 
in  any  of  the  other  English  speaking  countries.  The 
return  of  nearly  4,000,000  ex-service  men  to  civil 
life  has  gone  on  quietly;  but  while  they  have  been 
absorbed  in  civil  pursuits,  many  of  those  who  form- 
erly lived  in  the  cities  desire  the  open  life  of  the 
country.  Old  habits  have  been  broken  up;  and  the 
new  ones  formed  in  service  lead  men  to  look  to- 
wards farming  with  greater  favor  than  in  the  past. 
Some  of  the  injured  are  advised  to  take  up  farming 
as  the  best  means  of  restoring  their  health  and 
strength.  Those  who  have  given  most  attention  to 
the  subject  believe  that  the  soldiers'  need  and  desire 
for  farms  should  be  gratified,  not  for  their  good 
alone,  but  for  the  national  benefits  which  would 
result. 

In  order  for  both  the  ex-service  man  and  the  na- 
tion to  secure  the  greatest  benefits  from  a  soldier 
settlement  policy,  the  plan  should  provide  for  the 
creation  of  group  settlements.  It  has  been  shown 
elsewhere  that  the  greatest  opportunities  for  these 
settlements  are  in  the  sections  of  the  country  where 
agriculture  is  neglected,  or  where  there  are  great 
areas  of  undeveloped  lands.  The  opportunities  for 
group  settlement  in  the  New  England  and  Atlantic 
Seaboard  states  are  perhaps  unsurpassed  anywhere 
in  the  nation  and  the  benefits  that  would  come  from 
a  development  planned  by  agricultural  experts  would 
be  of  immense  and  enduring  value.     There  would 


I 


HOMES  FOR  SOLDIERS  195 

be  no  difficulty  In  securing  large  areas  of  land  in 
these  sections,  in  placing  settlers  thereon,  and  in  de- 
veloping an  agriculture  and  a  social  life  far  more 
progressive  than  the  one  displaced.  No  such  results 
would  come  from  lending  individual  ex-service  men 
money  to  buy  isolated  farms  in  these  areas.  Such 
individuals  would  not  farm  any  better  than  their 
neighbors.  They  could  not  introduce  cooperative 
buying  and  selling.  They  could  not  have  the  bene- 
fits of  expert  advice  and  direction.  They  could  only 
continue  the  prevailing  kind  of  agriculture  and  fall 
in  with  the  prevailing  business  methods. 

The  greatest  benefits  of  group  settlement  would, 
therefore,  be  lost;  but  this  is  not  the  only  draw- 
back that  would  come  from  financing  individuals  in 
an  unorganized  way.  It  is  already  known  that  a 
large  percentage  of  the  ex-service  men  who  would 
apply  for  farms  are  city  men  with  no  agricultural 
experience.  This  is  shown  in  the  applications  made 
to  the  California  Land  Settlement  Board  by  soldiers 
and  sailors.  More  than  half  of  these  applications 
are  from  city  bred  men  who  have  come  back  from 
the  war  with  a  desire  to  get  out  into  the  open  coun- 
try, or  who  have  families  that  have  had  this  desire 
awakened  in  them.  A  study  of  the  applications 
made  by  these  inexperienced  people  shows  that  they 
will  need  constant  friendly  personal  oversight  if  this 
attempt  is  not  to  end  in  disappointment  and  heavy 
loss  both  to  the  individuals  and  to  the  government; 
and  that  kind  of  oversight  can  be  secured  only  In  a 
community  development.  Furthermore  many  of 
those  who  want  to  get  out  on  small  farms  are  arti- 
sans.    In  a  planned  community  development,  which 


196      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

will  need  carpenters  and  blacksmiths  and  shoemak- 
ers and  tailors,  they  can  be  given  small  places  where 
families  can  grow  vegetables  and  poultry  and  live 
in  the  open  while  fathers  or  sons  can  earn  wages 
in  the  kind  of  skilled  work  they  understand.  Many 
such  adjustments  are  already  being  arranged  for  in 
the  California  settlement  that  is  soon  to  be  estab- 
lished; they  would  be  essential  in  all  soldier  settle- 
ments properly  organized  as  communities. 

In  the  United  States,  soldier  settlement  in  organ- 
ized communities,  if  once  well  started,  would  soon 
give  rise  to  a  national  policy  far  broader  in  scope. 
There  are  few  opportunities  for  planned  rural  de- 
velopment equal  to  those  now  ignored  in  the  At- 
lantic seaboard  states.  All  the  way  from  Maine  to 
Florida  are  neglected,  thinly  peopled  areas  varying 
from  ten  thousand  to  a  quarter  of  a  million  acres 
which  only  need  the  aid  of  science  and  organized 
community  action  to  begin  a  regeneration  which  will 
create  a  rural  life  as  significant  and  successful  as  that 
of  Denmark. 

The  recommendations  for  planned  settlement 
made  by  Secretary  Lane  and  his  advisors  were  re- 
flected in  bills  introduced  in  the  House  by  Congress- 
man Mondell  and  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Smoot, 
both  of  whom  had  taken  part  in  the  settlement  of 
the  arid  region  and  knew  the  value  of  organized 
community  effort  in  irrigation.  Nevertheless,  when 
these  bills  came  before  the  committees,  they  ran 
against  the  rooted  dislike  of  the  American  legisla- 
tor for  responsible  government  operation  of  any  so- 
cial or  industrial  enterprise.  The  Mondell  bill 
would  mean  better  opportunities  for  poor  men;  it 


HOMES  FOR  SOLDIERS  197 

would  create  a  new  and  better  rural  civilization 
in  neglected  areas;  it  would  mean  better  living  and 
better  farming  If  the  Government  acted  with  the 
wisdom  and  efficiency  shown  in  like  efforts  in  Den- 
mark and  Australia.  But  the  really  valuable  and 
important  proposal  halts  while  donations  of  money 
or  financially  dangerous  proposals  for  loans  to  indi- 
viduals for  buying  scattered  farms  are  being  consid- 
ered as  adequate  substitutes. 

The  two  policies  for  helping  soldiers  own  farms 
in  the  United  States  reflect  two  different  Ideas  of 
what  our  Government  ought  to  be  and  ought  to  do 
in  many  other  fields.  The  Mondell  bill  is  based  on 
the  idea  that  the  value  of  government  in  the  future 
will  be  measured  by  Its  economic  efficiency  and  its 
social  justice. 

Those  favoring  loans  to  the  individual  and  leav- 
ing each  borrower  to  look  out  for  himself,  do  this 
In  part,  because  of  a  deepseated  dislike  to  becoming 
responsible  for  the  results  of  government  action. 
Such  dislike  grows  out  of  the  fact  that  the  Govern- 
ment at  Washington  is  so  badly  organized  that  it  is 
far  from  the  rule  to  have  any  business  undertaking 
carried  out  cheaply  or  on  time.  The  day  has  come, 
however,  when  the  Government  must  take  a  respon- 
sible part  in  aiding  rural  development  and  in  helping 
to  shape  rural  civilization.  Such  a  responsible  part 
the  Government  will,  it  is  believed,  yet  be  willing  to 
take  in  connection  with  soldier  settlement. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  FUNCTION  OF  GOVERNMENT  IN  SO- 
CIAL AND  INDUSTRIAL,  DEVELOPMENT 

The  social  and  political  upheavals  of  Europe  have 
reached  across  the  ocean  and  are  forcing  the  govern- 
ment of  this  country  to  adopt  new  policies.  Here, 
as  in  other  warring  countries,  the  benefits  which  come 
from  a  widely  diffused  ownership  of  land  are  being 
realized  as  never  before.  Political  danger  comes 
mainly  from  the  unrest  of  the  industrial  worker. 
He  is  dissatisfied  and  is  inclined  to  struggle  not  only 
for  shorter  hours  and  higher  pay  but  for  a  new 
relation  between  him  and  his  employer.  Having  no 
clearly  thought  out  plan  of  how  this  result  is  to  be 
brought  about,  he  makes  the  city  the  breeding  ground 
for  the  cruder  and  more  violent  forms  of  socialism. 
The  town  artisan  who  contrasts  the  millionaire's  in- 
come with  his  own  salary,  the  ease  and  freedom  in 
the  life  of  the  rich  with  the  monotonous  routine  of 
his  own  work,  is  inclined  to  adopt  remedies  that  are 
worse  than  the  disease. 

No  such  dangers  confront  government  from  the 
unrest  of  the  farmer.  He  works  harder  but  receives 
no  larger  pay  than  the  city  artisan.  Yet  this  has 
not  led  him  to  join  in  a  class  warfare  because  he  is 
both  laborer  and  capitalist.  It  is  therefore  truer 
now  than  in  the  time  of  Aristotle  that  "  Where  hus- 

198 


FUNCTION  OF  GOVERNMENT      199 

bandmen  of  small  fortune  predominate,  government 
will  be  builded  by  law." 

In  19 1 8  Congress  appropriated  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior  $100,000  to  pay  for  an  investi- 
gation of  the  opportunities  for  reclamation  and  set- 
tlement of  the  swamp  and  neglected  lands  of  the 
humid  parts  of  the  United  States.  The  investiga- 
tion was  made  by  a  commission  appointed  by  Secre- 
tary Lane  and  headed  by  A.  P.  Davis,  Director  of 
the  U.  S.  Reclamation  Service. 

As  a  member  of  this  commission,  I  visited  nearly 
every  State  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  and  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  neglected  cheap  lands  of 
these  States  offer  better  opportunities  for  a  planned 
rural  development  than  do  the  higher  priced  lands 
of  the  Middle  West  or  of  the  Pacific  States.  There 
are  large  areas  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  for 
example,  where  70  per  cent,  of  land  once  fertile  and 
productive,  has  gone  out  of  cultivation  and  is  now 
scarred  with  gullies  and  covered  with  weeds  and 
brush,  a  melancholy  example  of  an  unplanned  and 
destructive  agriculture.  Once  these  areas  included 
some  of  the  best  farms  in  the  country;  and  under  a 
carefully  thought  out  program  of  crop  rotation,  the 
soil  could  undoubtedly  be  restored  to  its  former  con- 
dition. Thousands  of  acres  could  be  bought  for  less 
than  $25  an  acre  in  areas  large  enough  to  insure  co- 
operative community  organizations  of  from  100  to 
200  families.  Each  area  could  be  subdivided  so  as 
to  provide  every  farm  with  enough  fertile  land  to 
produce  a  good  living  income;  while  the  rougher  land 
which  could  not  be  plowed  without  serious  erosion 
could  be  set  aside  for  pasture  and  permanent  timber. 


200      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Cooperative  arrangements  for  buying  and  selling 
similar  to  those  which  now  prevail  at  Durham  would 
enable  settlers  to  get  started  with  less  capital  than 
is  required  on  the  costly  lands  of  the  Western  States; 
the  economic  benefit  to  the  nation  would  be  far 
greater.  While  the  returns  for  a  few  years  would 
not  be  so  great  as  in  California,  the  investment  and 
the  hazard  would  be  much  less.  The  communities 
would  be  near  good  local  markets.  They  could  or- 
ganize selling  agencies  which  cannot  be  instituted 
successfully  by  individual  farmers,  so  that  their  pro- 
duce could  go  direct  to  consumers.  This  would 
mean  lower  food  prices  for  city  workers. 

To-day  great  areas  of  land  in  every  State  from 
Maine  to  Florida  are  farmed  badly  either  by  tenants 
or  by  discouraged  and  discontented  owners.  They 
believe  they  are  opposed  by  forces  whose  nature  they 
do  not  clearly  understand  and  with  whose  power  they 
are  not  able  to  cope.  Great  areas  suffer  from  folk 
depletion.  Many  landowners  left  the  South  for  the 
West  after  the  Civil  War  and  helped  to  build  a  new 
civilization  all  the  way  from  Missouri  to  Oregon. 
The  farms  they  left  were  turned  over  to  tenants. 
Farther  North  immigration  to  the  cities  and  to  the 
West  carried  away  the  most  energetic  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  farms.  If  they  had  remained, 
there  would  have  been  no  dechne  in  the  agriculture 
of  New  England.  They  took  to  the  West  and  to 
the  city  the  spirit  of  initiative,  a  spirit  lacking  in 
those  who  remained  behind.  A  farm  does  not  stand 
still;  when  It  ceases  to  improve  it  begins  to  retro- 
grade.    The  New  England  farms  support  less  peo- 


FUNCTION  OF  GOVERNMENT      201 

pie,  less  cattle,  and  less  sheep  than  they  did  half  a 
century  ago.  What  they  need  is  a  return  of  people 
imbued  with  new  ideas. 

Such  a  return  will  not  come  through  any  sporadic 
or  local  effort.  No  adequate  change  will  come  from 
private  enterprise,  which  lacks  continuity,  reserve  of 
resources,  and,  most  important  of  all,  the  confidence 
of  people  ready  to  become  members  of  new  rural 
communities.  The  great  results  which  have  come 
from  Danish  closer  settlement  would  never  have  been 
achieved  without  government  aid  and  direction. 
The  fine  rural  life  of  New  Zealand  and  Australia 
would  not  exist,  if  land  settlement  had  been  left  to 
private  enterprise.^ 

When  our  legislative  machinery  was  devised  we 
were  a  small,  weak  nation;  parliamentary  control  was 
in  its  infancy.  The  government  plan  adopted  was  a 
compromise  not  wholly  satisfactory  at  the  time,  yet 
it  has  been  retained  without  material  improvement 
for  more  than  a  century.  During  that  century  Eng- 
land has  repeatedly  reformed  her  parliamentary  pro- 
cedure until  it  is  now  far  superior  to  what  it  was  a 
half  century  ago,  and  immeasurably  better  than  ours. 
Our  system  is  quite  obsolete,  when  compared  with 
the  systems  of  other  progressive  democracies.  In 
the  past  it  did  not  have  to  deal  with  the  immense  and 
complicated  industrial  and  economic  problems  of  one 
hundred  million  people;  in  the  present  it  is  inade- 
quate to  do  so.  To  ignore  its  shortcomings  and 
leave  it  unchanged  because  it  met  the  needs  of  our 

1  Much  of  what  follows  is  taken  by  permission  from  the  author's 
article  in  the  Metropolitan  Magazine  of  January,  1917. 


202      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

ancestors  is  as  costly  and  illogical  as  it  would  be  to 
continue  using  tallow  candles  for  lighting  or  ox  carts 
for  travel. 

Largely  because  our  legislatures  are  not  responsive 
to  the  popular  will,  we  have  fallen  behind  England, 
Germany,  and  France,  and  still  farther  behind  the 
English  speaking  democracies  of  Australia  and  New 
Zealand  in  our  industrial  and  social  legislation  — 
the  very  things  which  exalt  democracy  and  in  which 
we  should  lead.  Our  condition  might  be  regarded 
as  tolerable  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  we  are  be- 
ginning to  realize  that  in  the  development  of  re- 
sources or  extension  of  commerce  no  agency  equals 
the  State  as  a  coordinating  force.  The  countries 
which  have  gone  farthest  in  using  the  Government  as 
such  a  force  have  become  our  most  active  and  suc- 
cessful business  competitors.  As  a  result,  there  is  a 
growing  feeling  that  our  Government  should  became 
a  more  effective  business  partner  of  the  people  in 
what  H.  G.  Wells  calls  "  The  everyday  drama  of 
human  getting." 

The  growing  feeling,  however,  has  been  marked 
by  a  seeming  inability  to  think  economic  problems 
through  to  a  finish.  We  seem  unable  to  make  re- 
sults square  with  our  purposes.  Few  of  our  polit- 
ical leaders  have  made  a  study  of  industrial  or  social 
questions.  There  are  too  many  lawyers  and  too  few 
industrial  authorities  in  Congress  and  in  our  State 
Legislatures.  Political  campaigns  have  appealed 
more  to  emotion  than  to  reason;  ability  to  talk  has 
had  more  recognition  than  clear  thinking,  directness, 
or  demonstrated  efficiency  in  the  fields  where  ability 
is  most  needed.     While   every  corporation  is  con- 


FUNCTION  OF  GOVERNMENT     203 

stantly  looking  for  men  of  capacity  and  ready  to 
recognize  and  reward  them,  the  public  service  brings 
neither  honor  nor  adequate  compensation.  As  a  re- 
sult, our  ablest  men  find  their  greatest  reward  in  the 
services  of  corporations.  They  will  continue  to  do 
so  until  we  realize  the  overwhelming  price  we  are 
paying  for  lack  of  expert  direction  in  public  affairs. 
Because  our  tariff  bills  are  largely  political,  schedules 
are  so  manipulated  that  they  often  destroy  indus- 
tries rather  than  foster  them.  Labor,  instead  of 
being  protected,  is  left  open  to  the  free  competition 
of  the  poorly  paid  men  of  other  lands;  in  some  in- 
dustries laborers  work  here  through  longer  hours, 
under  harder  conditions,  and  for  less  pay  than  in 
free-trade  England. 

There  is  a  mistaken  belief  that  waste  and  ineffi- 
ciency are  inseparable  from  self-government;  that  it 
is  a  price  we  must  pay  for  political  freedom.  As  a 
result,  things  which  in  other  countries  are  better  done 
by  the  government,  are  here  handed  over  to  private 
enterprise;  important  matters  attended  to  elsewhere 
by  governmental  agencies  are  here  ignored.  We 
have  only  to  compare  the  limited  governmental  activ- 
ities of  this  country  with  those  of  democratic  Aus- 
tralia and  New  Zealand  to  realize  that  political  free- 
dom is  not  involved. 

In  Australia  and  New  Zealand  the  government 
(state  or  national)  owns  and  operates  the  railways 
and  the  telegraph  and  telephone  systems.  It  owns 
and  operates  nearly  all  street-car  systems,  all  express 
lines,  and  all  the  letter  and  parcel  posts.  It 
owns  and  operates  nearly  all  irrigation  works  and 
a  large  number  of  water  works  which  supply  cities 


204      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

and  towns.  The  national  government  exercises  con- 
trol over  and  finances  water  works  operated  by  the 
state  or  by  municipalities  —  almost  none  are  priv- 
ately owned.  The  State  also  owns  and  operates 
coal  mines,  and  saw-mills  in  state  forests  —  a  recent 
extension  of  state  activity,  arising  out  of  the  need  of 
placing  a  check  on  the  prices  charged  by  coal  and 
timber  monopolies.  The  State  owns  many  of  the 
wharves  and  docks  of  the  seaports.  It  owns  and 
operates  ship-building  yards  and  cold  storage  ware- 
houses, thus  placing  the  small  producer  of  fruit, 
meat,  and  butter  on  an  equality  with  the  great  ship- 
pers. It  makes  contracts  with  the  steamship  lines 
for  the  transportation  of  perishable  products  to 
Europe.  It  inspects  all  shipments  of  butter  and 
meat  and  fresh  fruit  and  requires  them  to  conform 
to  certain  standards  so  that  the  unscrupulous  shipper 
may  not  destroy  the  market  of  the  reputable  one. 
As  a  result  of  this  activity,  freights  have  been  low- 
ered and  service  Improved  until  now  the  Australian 
producer  ships  butter  12,000  miles  for  i  cent  per 
pound  and  fresh  meat  the  same  distance  for  ^  of  a 
cent.  The  owner  of  a  dozen  eggs  living  miles  In 
the  interior  of  Australia  can  transfer  them  to  govern- 
ment cold  storage,  have  them  sold  in  London,  and 
get  the  proceeds.  Australia  Is  three  times  the  dis- 
tance from  London  that  Eureka,  California,  is  from 
New  York,  but  the  Australian  dairyman  can  ship 
his  butter  to  London  for  one-third  of  what  It  costs 
the  Californian  to  ship  his  to  New  York. 

Australia  recognized  the  fact  that  one  of  the  re- 
quirements of  civilized  society  Is  an  adequate  supply 
of  pure  water  for  household  and  industrial  uses  and 


I 


FUNCTION  OF  GOVERNMENT     205 

in  arid  lands  for  irrigation.  The  greater  the  popula- 
tion and  the  higher  the  civilization,  the  greater  the 
value  of  water  and  the  greater  the  need  for  public 
ownership  and  control  over  both  the  sources  of  sup- 
ply and  the  means  of  distribution.  In  order  to  make 
state  control  of  water  supphes  effective,  the  Aus- 
tralian States  retain  the  ownership  of  the  beds  of 
streams  and  of  strips  of  land  on  each  bank  from  one 
to  three  chains  wide.  This  makes  the  State  the  sole 
riparian  proprietor.  Riparian  rights  —  an  archaic 
survival  of  a  different  industrial  age  —  has  no  recog- 
nition. This  part  of  the  British  Empire  has  freed 
itself  from  the  costly  and  absurd  conditions  of  a  doc- 
trine which  we  have  unwisely  retained.  In  America 
the  state  has  largely  Ignored  the  significance  of  water 
control  or  has  shirked  the  responsibility  which  ade- 
quate action  would  Involve.  Our  country  has  been 
profligate  in  granting  perpetual  rights  to  streams  and 
then  leaving  the  holders  of  these  rights  to  fight  for 
control  through  continued  contests  in  the  courts. 
Such  action  has  cost  American  irrigators  millions  of 
dollars;  and  the  final  settlement  Is  as  remote  as  In 
the  beginning,  because  each  decision  opens  up  fresh 
ground  for  controversy. 

Under  the  public  control  of  Australia,  water-rlght 
litigation  is  unknown.  The  state  holds  as  part  of 
its  social  creed  that  each  generation  has  an  obliga- 
tion to  the  generations  that  are  to  follow.  The  con- 
trol of  resources  on  which  all  depend  is,  therefore, 
retained  by  the  state.  The  publicly  owned  strips  of 
land  along  the  margins  make  rivers  and  brooks 
forever  accessible  to  all  the  people.  The  own- 
ers of  the  great  landed  estates  cannot  exclude  the 


2o6       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

nasses  from  the  enjoyment  of  their  beauties  and  their 
opportunities.  The  AustraHan  millionaire  and  the 
AustraHan  tramp  can  fish  off  the  same  log.  Both 
have  the  same  rights. 

State  forest  areas  in  Australia  are  numerous  and 
widely  distributed.  New  areas  are  being  planted. 
Coal  mines  are  leased,  not  sold.  Thrift  is  encour- 
aged by  a  State  Savings  Bank,  which  in  addition  to 
interest  pays  the  depositors  a  share  of  the  profits. 
What  this  means  to  wage-earners  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  nearly  one-half  of  all  the  people  in  the 
Commonwealth  are  depositors.  Out  of  a  total  pop- 
ulation of  1,400,000  in  the  State  of  Victoria,  735,000 
are  depositors  in  the  State  Savings  Bank.  Each 
State  has  a  comprehciisive,  generous,  and  successful 
system  for  aiding  poor  men  to  buy  farms  and  city 
clerks  and  mechanics  to  pay  for  homes.  In  the 
State  of  Victoria  4,000  families  have  been  able  to 
secure  farms  in  the  country,  and  6,000  workmen 
homes  in  the  city  which  they  could  never  have  at- 
tempted to  secure  without  state  aid  and  direction. 

The  best  feature  of  the  Australian  state  activity 
is  that  it  has  not  been  handed  down  from  above  like 
that  of  socialized  Germany;  it  has  been  created  and 
is  maintained  by  the  free  vote  of  the  people.  They 
have  incurred  great  responsibility  and  heavy  expense 
in  the  belief  that  there  can  be  no  really  free  society, 
no  genuine  democracy,  so  long  as  want  and  misery 
exist  in  the  midst  of  abundance. 

Many  Americans  believe  that  such  a  program  in 
this  country  would  tend  to  weaken  the  self-reliance, 
the  initiative,  and  the  independence  of  the  people. 
But  experience  has  shown  that  this  is  not  the  case. 


FUNCTION  OF  GOVERNMENT     207 

The  conduct  of  Australian  troops  in  the  war,  and  the 
remarkable  development  of  the  country  could  only 
come  from  a  brave,  self-reliant,  and  energetic  people. 
Paternalism  like  that  of  Australia,  which  creates  op- 
portunity for  industry  and  thrift,  awakens  hope, 
arouses  ambition,  and  strengthens  belief  in  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  is  altogether  good  in  its  influ- 
ence on  character  and  on  the  prosperity  of  the  State. 

Two  years  ago  a  flood  in  Southern  California 
washed  away  houses,  killed  live-stock,  and  flooded 
orchards.  Settlers  in  the  flooded  area  not  only  lost 
money,  but  were  in  danger  of  losing  their  homes  if 
the  damages  to  farms  and  orchards  were  not  at  once 
repaired.  To  repair  them  required  the  expenditure 
of  a  large  amount  of  money,  which  the  farmers  did 
not  have  and  could  not  borrow  on  their  own  credit. 
The  only  relief  under  our  badly  organized  State  was 
through  private  philanthropy.  The  Board  of  Trade 
and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  San  Diego  were 
appealed  to.  Many  public  spirited,  generous  people 
dropped  their  business  to  canvass  for  a  fund;  a 
private  committee  took  up  the  task  of  determining 
the  relative  urgency  of  those  in  need  of  aid.  This 
was,  of  course,  vastly  better  than  nothing;  but  there 
were  delay  and  uncertainties;  and  the  relief  which 
was  finally  extended  was  wholly  inadequate.  This 
method  of  deahng  with  recurring  situations  is  waste- 
ful of  time  and  wholly  unscientific.  Public  spirited 
and  generous  citizens  bear  the  whole  burden;  the 
stingy  and  selfish,  regardless  of  ability,  contribute 
nothing;  and  there  can  never  be  any  certainty  that 
the  desired  result  will  be  achieved. 

In  another  case  relief  was  not  even  attempted. 


208       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

There  was  a  time  when  Wyoming  was  the  greatest 
cattle  growing  State  in  the  West.  It  had  reached 
this  position  because  the  industry  was  managed  by 
men  of  unusual  intelligence  and  thrift.  No  State 
ever  had  a  more  useful  or  valuable  body  of  citizens. 
As  far  as  could  be  judged  by  past  experience,  they 
were  conducting  their  business  on  a  safe  and  prac- 
tical basis.  But  there  came  a  winter  with  unprece- 
dented storms.  In  the  valley  of  one  river  100,000 
steers  were  victims  of  its  awful  severity. 

Men,  through  no  fault  of  their  own,  lost  the 
earnings  of  a  life-time  and  had  to  become  wage- 
earners.  The  State  had  to  wait  ten  years  before  its 
ranges  were  re-stocked  and  railway  range  traffic 
reached  its  former  proportions.  Banks  and  mer- 
chants failed  because  stockmen  could  not  pay  their 
debts. 

In  this  wreck  of  community  prosperity  no  one  ap- 
pealed to  the  state  to  act  as  a  business  partner  and 
help  its  citizens  to  continue  the  business  which  they 
understood  and  which  public  interest  required  they 
should  still  direct.  Every  one  regarded  the  Govern- 
ment as  having  no  obligation  toward  the  ruined  in- 
dustry. The  State  was  solely  a  political  institution 
with  no  direct  concern  in  human  endeavor  or  in  the 
Individual  success  of  its  citizens. 

Here  was  the  narrow  political  view  of  the  State's 
functions  and  its  inevitable  result.  Some  of  the  re- 
cent economic  history  of  Australia  will  Illustrate  the 
benefits  which  flow  from  a  different  conception  and 
a  larger  use  of  the  States'  powers. 

In  1 9 14  a  drought  began  In  Victoria,  Australia, 


FUNCTION  OF  GOVERNMENT     209 

more  severe  than  any  before  known  in  that  land  of 
limited  and  uncertain  rain.  It  came  upon  newly- 
settled  districts  struggling  with  the  burden  of  the 
world's  war.  Streams  ran  dry,  reservoirs  were 
emptied,  cultivated  crops  outside  of  irrigated  areas 
withered  and  died.  But  public  opinion  held  unan- 
imously in  that  country  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
Government  to  use  all  its  powers  to  mitigate  the  suf- 
fering and  the  loss  of  the  afflicted  districts.  And 
the  Government  acted  with  the  promptness  and  the 
decision  of  an  American  corporation.  The  state 
railways  moved  the  starving  stock  from  the  dried-up 
wheat  farms  of  the  interior  to  the  green  state  forest 
along  the  sea-coast.  Employment  for  farmers  and 
farmers'  families  was  provided  by  building  state  irri- 
gation works  to  fertilize  new  areas,  by  extending 
railway  lines  into  new  territory,  and  by  constructing 
state  highways  along  routes  long  before  selected. 
Every  man  who  wanted  work  was  given  it.  Those 
who  would  not  work  willingly  had  no  excuse  to  re- 
main idle  and  be  supported  by  mistaken  charity. 

The  emergency  action  in  rescuing  starving  stock 
and  in  providing  employment  and  a  living  for  dis- 
tressed farmers  did  not  end  the  State's  activity.  It 
was,  in  fact,  the  least  instructive  and  scientific  part. 
When  time  came  to  prepare  for  sowing  the  next  sea- 
son's crop  the  drought  had  not  ended.  It  was  im- 
possible for  the  farmers  to  return  to  their  homes 
without  financial  aid.  Hay  and  grain  needed  to  feed 
teams  in  plowing  and  seeding  could  not  be  obtained 
anywhere  on  the  Australian  Continent.  It  had  to 
be  shipped  across  the  ocean  from  either  North  or 


2IO      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

South  America.  Many  of  the  farmers  were  new 
settlers  with  neither  money  nor  credit.  Unaided 
they  could  not  cope  with  the  situation;  but  unless  the 
wheat  lands  were  planted  the  Nation  would  face 
starvation  and  bankruptcy  the  following  year. 

The  Australian  Government,  the  people's  business 
partner,  called  a  conference  of  merchants  and  bank- 
ers in  the  drought  stricken  area  and  proposed  that 
together  they  finance  the  planting  of  the  next  wheat 
crop : —  the  State  to  provide  seed  wheat  and  feed 
for  work  animals;  the  merchants  to  provide  food  and 
clothes  for  farmers'  families;  the  bankers  to  supply 
money  needed  by  storekeepers.  The  relief  program 
was  to  be  carried  out  under  the  direction  of  state 
officers.  The  State  was  to  charge  5  per  cent,  in- 
terest, and  the  bankers  and  storekeepers  6  per  cent. 
Each  farmer  helped  was  to  sign  a  contract  under 
which  a  certain  proportion  of  his  next  year's  crop 
was  to  be  set  aside  to  repay  money  advanced. 

In  this  way  the  farmers  in  half  a  state  were  gmb- 
staked.  They  moved  their  families  and  teams  back 
from  the  sea-coast  into  a  land  where  the  skies  were 
like  brass  and  the  earth  looked  like  a  desert.  The 
state  railway  hauled  water  for  household  and  stock 
use.  The  State  chartered  ships  and  transported  50,- 
000  tons  of  hay  from  America,  over  7,000  miles. 
It  spent  in  doing  this  about  $3,000,000.  What  the 
storekeepers  and  the  banks  furnished  is  not  known, 
but  their  contributions  probably  equaled  those  of  the 
Government.  Under  this  arrangement  the  farmers' 
extremity  was  not  the  banker's  opportunity.  The 
outcome  was  the  largest  acreage  of  wheat  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  state.     Rains  were  timely  and  abundant; 


FUNCTION  OF  GOVERNMENT     211 

the  yield  nearly  doubled  that  of  the  greatest  previous 
harvest. 

Then  a  new  complication  arose.  When  the  crop 
was  ready  to  market,  there  were  no  buyers.  The 
local  demand  would  absorb  only  a  small  fraction  of 
it;  war  had  drawn  most  of  the  ships  to  other  parts 
of  the  world;  and  the  freight  on  a  bushel  of  wheat 
was  more  than  the  selling  price  in  Liverpool.  The 
individual  farmer  In  Australia  was  as  helpless  as  the 
individual  stockman  in  Wyoming,  or  the  individual 
settler  in  California.  In  these  straits  the  marketing 
of  wheat  was  made  a  Government  matter.  The  aid 
of  the  British  Empire  was  invoked  and  gained.  The 
ships  which  carried  soldiers  on  their  decks  had  their 
holds  filled  with  wheat. 

Here  was  a  field  for  the  speculative  wheat  buyer, 
who  was  keen  and  ready  to  reap  the  profit  arising 
out  of  the  Government's  aid.  To  prevent  this  the 
Australian  Government  bought  the  wheat.  A 
proclamation  stopped  all  private  buying  on  a  fixed 
date.  The  Government  paid  the  farmers  75  cents 
a  bushel,  cash,  and  is  to  pay  more  when  sales  are 
completed  and  expenses,  including  interest,  have  been 
deducted. 

The  outcome  of  this  transaction,  Involving  the 
purchase  of  over  150,000,000  bushels,  has  been  the 
restoration  of  hope  and  confidence  to  a  body  of  panic- 
stricken  farmers  and  business  men.  Without  state 
action  nine  bushels  of  wheat  out  of  ten  would  have 
had  neither  buyer  nor  market;  through  cooperation 
of  the  Government  and  the  people  a  business  disaster 
of  appalling  proportions  was  averted.  The  state, 
the  country  storekeepers,  and  the  bankers  have  been 


212       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

repaid  the  money  advanced  to  grow  the  crop,  or  they 
will  be  repaid  before  the  transaction  is  closed. 

California  has  begun  to  create  communities  organ- 
ized to  act  efficiently  as  communities  and  endowed 
with  a  civic  spirit  unknown  in  planless  development. 
The  land  for  the  second  colony  now  being  made 
ready  for  settlement  includes  two  towns.  Here  the 
functions  of  a  town  are  being  provided  for.  There 
are  broad  straight  streets  for  business  and  narrower 
winding  streets  for  homes.  Railroad  tracks  will 
run  past  the  factories  and  warehouses  needed  to 
serve  the  surrounding  country.  The  County  Farm 
Bureau  has  already  selected  the  place  for  its  yards 
and  warehouses.  There  will  be  a  public  cold  stor- 
age warehouse  with  individual  boxes  for  the  uses  of 
farmers  and  townspeople  like  the  one  at  Chico.  The 
school  grounds  will  be  large  enough  for  vocational 
training  and  agriculture.  The  Plant  Industry  Gar- 
dens maintained  by  the  United  States  are  expected  to 
contribute  rare  and  unusual  plants  for  the  decoration 
of  this  school  garden.  And  there  will  be  a  com- 
munity center  where  gatherings  of  the  people  of  the 
surrounding  districts  can  be  held. 

Ten  years  from  now  the  difference  between  a  town 
boomed  by  a  real  estate  speculator  and  a  town  and 
country  planned  by  a  State  Board  will  show  Cali- 
fornians  that  their  State  was  mindful  of  its  responsi- 
bilities. 

The  response  to  what  the  State  has  done  makes  its 
efforts  seem  very  small  when  compared  with  the  de- 
mand for  the  opportunities  which  planned  develop- 
ment offers.     Not  a  lot  in  the  new  town  has  been 


FUNCTION  OF  GOVERNMENT     213 

sold,  not  a  farm  in  the  new  tract  has  been  made  ready 
for  the  cultivator;  yet  more  than  3,000  people  have 
registered  as  applicants.  In  the  first  ten  days  open 
for  applications,  574  people  applied  in  person  or  by 
letter.  Three-fourths  of  these  were  ex-service  men 
who  long  to  restore  what  they  lost  in  France  by  a 
life  in  the  open. 

Even  if  the  State  could  provide  community  units 
equal  to  the  demand,  its  effort  would  be  only  a  small 
part  of  the  constructive  help  which  the  people  need 
in  order  that  rural  democracy  may  reach  its  full 
fruition. 

In  California  as  in  other  American  States,  rivers 
need  to  be  conserved  and  forests  saved  from  the 
devastation  of  ax  and  fire.  The  fertile  soil  of  hill- 
side farms  needs  to  be  saved  from  the  destructive 
effects  of  erosion.  Agriculture  which  impairs  soil 
fertility  must  be  discredited.  In  the  arid  States,  the 
relative  rights  of  irrigation  and  power  should  be  as- 
certained and  defined;  a  definite  plan  of  future  de- 
velopment should  be  prepared.  Real  estate  tax 
laws  based  on  unimproved  values  with  a  higher  rate 
for  great  estates  and  those  held  by  non-residents 
would  help  to  break  up  large  holdings,  increase  the 
rural  population  and  forestall  more  radical  remedies. 
Such  restrictions  should  be  placed  on  tenure  as  will 
prevent  the  holding  of  great  areas  of  land  by  non- 
residents. More  effective  laws  are  needed  to  pro- 
tect rural  civilization  from  the  impending  menace  of 
alien  ownership.  What  has  been  accomplished  is 
only  a  germ  of  the  things  that  ought  to  be  done  to 
make  rural  life  a  real  social  and  industrial  democracy. 


APPENDIX 

THE  CALIFORNIA  LAND  SETTLEMENT 

ACT 

(Stats.  1917,  p.  1566;  Stats.  1919,  p.  838.) 

An  act  creating  a  state  land  settlement  board  and  defining  its 
powers  and  duties  and  making  an  appropriation  in  aid 
of  its  operations. 

The  people  of  the  State  of  California  do  enact  as  follows: 

Section  i.  The  legislature  believes  that  land  settlement 
is  a  problem  of  great  importance  to  the  welfare  of  all  the 
people  of  the  State  of  California  and  for  that  reason  through 
this  particular  act  endeavors  to  improve  the  general  economic 
and  social  conditions  of  agricultural  settlers  within  the  state 
and  of  the  people  of  the  state  in  general. 

Sec.  2.  The  object  of  this  act  is  to  provide  employment 
and  rural  homes  for  soldiers,  sailors,  marines  and  others  who 
have  served  with  the  armed  forces  of  the  United  States  in 
the  European  war  or  other  wars  of  the  United  States,  includ- 
ing former  American  citizens  who  served  in  allied  armies 
against  the  central  powers  and  have  been  repatriated,  and 
who  have  been  honorably  discharged,  to  promote  closer  agri- 
cultural settlement,  to  assist  deserving  and  qualified  persons 
to  acquire  small  improved  farms,  to  demonstrate  the  value  of 
adequate  capital  and  organized  direction  in  subdividing  and 
preparing  agricultural  land  for  settlement,  and  to  provide 
homes  for  farm  laborers. 

To  carry  out  the  objects  herein  stated  there  is  hereby 
created  a  state  land  settlement  board  to  consist  of  five  mem- 
bers appointed  by  the  governor  to  hold  office  for  a  term  of 
four  years  and  until  their  successors  have  been   appointed 

215 


2i6       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

and  shall  have  qualified;  provided,  however,  that  of  the  mem- 
bers first  appointed  two  shall  be  appointed  to  hold  office  until 
the  first  day  in  January,  191 8,  one  until  the  first  day  in  Janu- 
ary, 1919,  one  until  the  first  day  in  January,  1920,  and  one 
until  the  first  day  in  January,  1921. 

The  governor  shall  designate  one  of  the  members  as  chair- 
man of  the  board  and  director  of  land  settlement.  The 
secretary  may  or  may  not  be  a  member  of  the  board.  The 
board  shall  appoint  such  expert,  technical,  and  clerical  as- 
sistants as  may  prove  necessary,  and  shall  define  their  duties. 
It  shall  fix  the  salaries  of  all  employees,  vv^ith  the  approval 
of  the  state  board  of  control. 

The  four  members  of  the  board  shall  receive  a  per  diem 
for  each  meeting  attended,  and  the  chairman  shall  receive  a 
salary,  said  per  diem  and  salary  to  be  fixed  by  the  state  board 
of  control  with  the  approval  of  the  governor.  The  members 
shall  also  receive  their  actual  necessary  traveling  expenses  in 
the  discharge  of  their  duties. 

The  said  land  settlement  board  shall  have  power  to  co- 
operate with  and  to  contract  with  the  duly  authorized  repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  government  in  carrying  out 
the  provisions  of  this  act.      (As  amended   Stats.    1919,   p. 

839.) 

Sec.  3.  The  state  land  settlement  board,  hereinafter 
called  the  board,  shall  constitute  a  body  corporate  with  the 
right  on  behalf  of  the  state  to  hold  property,  receive  and 
request  donations,  sue  and  be  sued,  and  all  other  rights  pro- 
vided by  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  State  of  California 
as  belonging  to  bodies  corporate. 

Three  members  of  the  board  shall  constitute  a  quorum 
and  such  quorum  may  exercise  all  the  power  and  authority 
conferred  on  the  board  by  this  act. 

Sec.  4.  For  the  purposes  of  this  act,  the  board  may  ac- 
quire on  behalf  of  the  state  by  purchase,  gift  or  the  exercise 
of  the  power  of  eminent  domain,  all  lands,  water  rights  and 
other  property  needed  for  the  purposes  hereof,  and  may  take 


APPENDIX  217 

title  in  trust  and  shall  without  delay  improve,  subdivide  and 
sell  such  land,  water  rights  and  other  property  with  appur- 
tenances and  rights  to  approved  bona  fide  settlers;  the  board 
shall  have  the  authority  to  set  aside  for  townsite  purposes  a 
suitable  area  purchased  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  and  to 
subdivide  such  area  and  sell  or  lease  the  same  for  cash,  in  lots 
of  such  size,  and  with  such  restrictions  as  to  resale,  as  they 
shall  deem  best;  and  provided,  further,  that  the  board  shall 
have  authority  to  set  aside  and  dedicate  to  public  use  such 
area  or  areas  as  it  may  deem  desirable  for  roads,  schoolhouses, 
churches,  or  other  public  purposes.  (As  amended  Stats. 
1919.  p.  839-) 

Sec.  5.  Whenever  the  board  believes  that  private  land 
should  be  purchased  for  settlement  under  this  act,  it  shall  give 
notice  by  publication  in  one  or  more  newspapers  of  general 
circulation  in  this  state,  setting  forth  approximately  the  area 
and  character  of  the  land  desired  and  the  conditions  that 
shall  govern  the  proposed  pui^hase,  and  inviting  owners  of 
land  willing  to  enter  into  a  contract  of  sale  on  the  conditions 
proposed  to  submit  such  land  for  inspection.  (As  amended 
Stats.  19 19.  p.  840.) 

Sec.  6.  Within  thirty  days  thereafter  the  board  shall 
direct  an  officer  or  officers  in  its  employ,  or  one  or  more  per- 
sons who  may  at  its  request  be  designated  by  the  dean  of 
the  college  of  agriculture  of  the  University  of  California,  to 
inspect  and  report  on  all  tracts  of  land  suitable  for  closer 
settlement  which  are  so  submitted. 

Sec.  7.  The  board  shall  give  not  less  than  one  week's 
notice  of  the  approximate  date  when  tracts  submitted  will  be 
inspected  and  every  report  of  such  inspection  shall  as  far  as 
practicable  specify  the  — 

{a)   Situation  and  brief  description  thereof; 

{b)  Extent  and  situation  of  land  comprising  so  much  of 
any  tract  as  it  is  proposed  to  acquire; 

(c)   Names  and  addresses  of  the  owners  thereof; 

{d)   Character  of  water  rights ; 


2i8       HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

(e)   Nature  of  improvements; 

(/)   Crops  being  grown  on  land ; 

{ff)  Appraisement  of  value  of  land,  water  rights  and  im- 
provements. 

Sec.  8.  On  receiving  the  reports  on  all  of  the  land  ex- 
amined the  board  shall  decide  which  of  the  areas  is  best  suited 
to  the  purpose  of  this  act.  Before  so  deciding  the  board  may 
examine  the  land,  or  it  may  employ  one  or  more  competent 
valuers  to  fix  the  productive  value  of  the  land  and  report 
the  same  in  writing;  the  owner  or  his  agent  may  give  evi- 
dence as  to  its  value. 

Sec.  9.  If  from  the  evidence  submitted  or  from  the 
results  of  its  personal  inspection,  the  board  is  satisfied  that 
one  or  more  of  the  tracts  submitted  are  suited  to  intensive, 
closer  settlement  and  can  be  acquired  at  a  reasonable  price, 
it  shall  submit  to  the  governor  its  report,  giving  the  reasons 
for  recommending  the  purchase,  and  on  the  approval  of  the 
governor  the  board  shall  be  authorized  to  purchase  the  same; 
provided,  that  before  such  purchase  is  made,  the  attorney 
general  shall  approve  the  title  of  such  lands  and  any  water 
rights  appurtenant  thereto,  and  the  state  water  commission 
shall  certify  in  writing  as  to  the  sufficiency  of  any  water 
rights  to  be  conveyed.      (As  amended  Stats.  19 19,  p.  840.) 

Sec.  10.  All  sales  to  settlers  of  land  under  this  act  shall 
be  made  under  such  terms  and  conditions  as  shall  give  to  the 
board  full  control  of  any  subdivisions  thereof  until  all  moneys 
advanced  by  the  state  for  the  purchase,  improvement,  or 
equipment  of  such  subdivisions  are  fully  repaid,  together  with 
interest  thereon  as  herein  provided.  (As  amended  Stats. 
1919,  p.  840.) 

Sec.  II.  Immediately  upon  taking  possession  of  any  land 
purchased  as  above,  and  after  deducting  any  areas  to  be  set 
aside  for  tovvnsites  or  public  purposes  in  accordance  with 
section  four  of  this  act,  the  board  shall  subdivide  it  into  areas 
suitable  for  farms  and  farm  laborer's  allotments,  and  lay 
out,  and  where  necessary,  construct  roads,  ditches,  and  drains 


APPENDIX  219 

for  giving  access  to  and  insuring  the  proper  cultivation  of 
the  several  farms  and  allotments.  The  board,  prior  to  dis- 
posing of  it  to  settlers,  or  at  any  time  after  such  land  has  been 
disposed  of,  but  not  after  the  end  of  the  fifth  year  from  the 
commencement  of  the  term  of  the  settler's  purchase  contract, 
may  — 

(a)  Prepare  all  or  any  part  of  such  land  for  irrigation  and 
cultivation  ; 

(b)  Seed,  plant,  or  fence  such  land,  and  cause  dwelling 
houses  and  outbuildings  to  be  erected  on  any  farm  allotment 
or  make  any  other  improvements  not  specified  above  neces- 
sary to  render  the  allotment  habitable  and  productive  in 
advance  of  or  after  settlement,  the  total  cost  to  the  board  of 
such  dwellings,  outbuildings,  and  improvements  not  to  exceed 
one  thousand  five  hundred  ($1,500)  dollars  on  any  one  farm 
allotment ; 

(c)  Cause  cottages  to  be  erected  on  any  farm  laborer's 
allotment  and  provide  a  domestic  water  supply,  the  combined 
cost  to  the  board  of  the  cottage  and  water  supply  not  to 
exceed  eight  hundred  ($800)  dollars  on  any  one  farm 
laborer's  allotment; 

(d)  Make  loans  to  approved  settlers  on  the  security  of 
permanent  improvements,  stock  and  farm  implements,  such 
loans  to  be  secured  by  mortgage  or  mortgages,  deed  or  deeds 
of  trust  on  such  permanent  improvements,  stock  or  farm 
implements,  and  the  total  amount  of  any  such  loan,  together 
with  money  spent  by  the  board  on  improvements  as  above 
specified,  not  to  exceed  three  thousand  dollars  on  any  one 
farm  allotment,  or  two  thousand  dollars  on  any  one  farm 
laborer's  allotment.      (As  amended.  Stats.  19 19,  p.  840.) 

Sec.  12.  Authority  is  hereby  granted  to  the  board,  where 
deemed  desirable,  to  operate  and  maintain  any  irrigation 
works  constructed  to  serve  any  lands  purchased  and  sold 
under  the  provisions  of  this  act.  All  moneys  received  in  tolls 
or  charges  for  the  operation  and  maintenance  of  any  works 
or  for  any  water  supplied  therefrom,  shall  be  deposited  in  the 


220      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

land  settlement  fund  created  by  this  act  and  shall  become 
available  for  the  payment  of  any  costs,  expenses,  or  other 
charges  authorized  in  this  act  to  be  paid  from  said  land  settle- 
ment fund. 

Sec.  13.  After  the  purchase  of  land  by  the  board  under 
the  provisions  of  this  act  and  before  its  disposal  to  approved 
bona  fide  applicants  the  board  shall  have  authority  to  lease 
such  land  or  a  part  thereof  on  bonded  or  secured  lease  on 
such  terms  as  it  shall  deem  fit. 

Sec.  14.  Lands  disposed  of  under  this  act,  other  than 
lands  set  aside  for  townsites  or  public  purposes,  shall  be  sold 
either  as  farm  allotments,  each  of  vt^hich  shall  have  a  value 
not  exceeding,  without  improvements,  fifteen  thousand  dol- 
lars, or  as  farm  laborers'  allotments,  each  of  which  shall 
have  a  value  not  exceeding,  without  improvements,  one  thou- 
sand dollars.  Before  any  part  of  an  area  is  thrown  open  for 
settlement  there  shall  be  public  notice  thereof  once  a  week 
for  four  weeks  in  one  or  more  daily  newspapers  of  general 
circulation  in  the  state,  setting  forth  the  number  and  size  of 
farm  allotments  or  farm  laborer's  allotments,  or  both,  the 
prices  at  which  they  are  offered  for  sale,  the  minimum 
amount  of  capital  a  settler  will  be  required  to  have,  the  mode 
of  payment,  the  amount  of  cash  payment  required,  and  such 
other  particulars  as  the  board  may  think  proper  and  specify- 
ing a  definite  period  within  which  applications  therefor  shall 
be  filed  with  the  board  on  forms  provided  by  the  board. 
The  board  shall  have  the  right  in  its  uncontrolled  discretion 
to  reject  any  or  all  applications  it  may  see  fit  and  may  read- 
vertise  as  aforesaid  as  often  as  it  sees  fit  until  it  receives  and 
accepts  such  number  of  applications  as  it  may  deem  necessary. 

If  no  applications  satisfactory  to  the  board  are  received 
for  any  farm  allotment  or  farm  laborer's  allotment  follow- 
ing such  advertising,  the  board  at  any  time  prior  to  readver- 
tising,  may  sell  any  such  farm  allotment  or  farm  laborer's 
allotment  at  the  prices  at  which  they  were  so  offered  for  sale, 
without  the  necessity  of  readvertising. 


APPENDIX  221 

The  board  shall  also  have  the  power  in  dealing  with  any 
such  farm  allotments  or  farm  laborer's  allotments  for  which 
there  has  been  no  such  application  satisfactorj^  to  the  board, 
to  subdivide  or  amalgamate  any  one  or  more  of  such  allot- 
ments as  it  may  see  fit,  and  fix  the  prices  thereon,  provided 
that  the  limitations  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  for  a  farm 
allotment  and  one  thousand  dollars  for  the  farm  laborer's 
allotment,  as  in  this  section  set  forth,  are  not  violated.  Such 
subdivision  or  amalgamation  may  be  had  without  the  neces- 
sity of  readvertising. 

The  board  may  also  sell  at  public  auction,  under  such  con- 
ditions of  sale  and  notice  thereof  as  the  board  may  prescribe, 
any  areas  which  the  board  may  determine  are  not  suitable  for 
farm  allotments  or  farm  laborer's  allotments,  whether  or  not 
included  in  any  subdivision  into  farm  allotments  or  farm 
laborer's  allotments;  provided,  that  if  such  area  has  been  in- 
cluded in  such  a  farm  allotment  or  farm  laborer's  allotment, 
then  such  sale  at  public  auction  can  be  made  only  after  a 
failure  to  receive  any  application  satisfactory  to  the  board 
after  the  advertising  thereof,  as  required  by  the  terms  of 
this  section.      (As  amended,  Stats.  1919,  p.  841.) 

Sec.  15.  Any  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  any  person 
who  has  declared  his  intention  of  becoming  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  is  not  the  holder  of  agricultural  land 
or  of  possessory  rights  thereto  to  the  value  of  fifteen  thousand 
dollars,  and  who  by  this  purchase  would  not  become  the 
holder  of  agricultural  land  or  of  possessor}^  rights  thereto 
exceeding  such  value,  and  who  is  prepared  to  enter  within  six 
months  upon  actual  occupation  of  the  land  acquired,  may 
apply  for  and  become  the  purchaser  of  either  a  farm  allot- 
ment or  a  farm  laborer's  allotment;  provided,  that  no  more 
than  one  farm  allotment  or  more  than  one  farm  laborer's 
allotment  shall  be  sold  to  any  one  person ;  provided,  further, 
that  no  applicant  shall  be  approved  who  shall  not  satisfy  the 
,  board  as  to  his  or  her  fitness  successfully  to  cultivate  and 
develop  the  allotment  applied  for. 


222      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

The  board  may,  in  offering  for  sale  farm  allotments  or 
farm  laborer's  allotments,  cooperate  or  contract  with  the 
duly  authorized  representatives  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment and  other  public  corporations  or  agencies  generally. 
The  board  is  hereby  authorized  to  perform  all  acts  necessary 
to  cooperate  fully  with  the  agencies  of  the  United  States  en- 
gaged in  work  of  similar  character,  and  with  similar  boards 
and  agencies  of  other  states.  In  any  such  sales  made  in  co- 
operation with  such  representatives  or  agencies  of  the  United 
States  government,  preference  must  be  given  to  soldiers, 
sailors,  marines  and  others  who  have  served  with  the  armed 
forces  of  the  United  States  in  the  European  war  or  other 
wars  of  the  United  States,  including  former  American  citi- 
zens who  served  in  allied  armies  against  the  central  powers, 
and  have  been  repatriated,  and  who  have  been  honorably  dis- 
charged. The  board  may  likewise,  whether  or  not  acting  in 
cooperation  with  the  duly  authorized  representatives  of  the 
United  States  government,  give  such  preference  to  any  of 
such  citizens  of  California,  who  as  soldiers,  sailors,  marines 
and  others  have  served  with  the  armed  forces  of  the  United 
States,  as  in  this  section  described.  (As  amended.  Stats, 
1919,  p.  842.) 

Sec.  16.  Within  ten  days  after  the  final  date  set  for  re- 
ceiving applications  for  either  farm  allotments  or  farm 
laborer's  allotments  the  board  shall  meet  to  consider  the 
applications,  and  may  request  applicants  to  appear  in  person ; 
provided,  that  the  board  shall  have  the  power  and  the  un- 
controlled discretion  to  reject  any  or  all  applications. 

Sec.  17.  The  selling  prices  of  the  several  allotments  into 
which  lands  purchased  under  this  act  are  subdivided,  other 
than  those  set  aside  for  townsite  and  public  purposes,  shall 
be  fixed  by  the  board,  so  as  to  render  such  allotments  as 
nearly  as  possible  equally  attractive,  and  calculated  to  return 
to  the  state  the  original  cost  of  the  land,  together  with  a  suffi- 
cient sum  added  thereto  to  cover  all  expenses  and  costs  of 
surveying,   improving,  subdividing,   and  selling  such   lands, 


APPENDIX  223 

including  the  pa3^ment  of  interest,  and  all  costs  of  engineer- 
ing, superintendence,  and  administration,  including  the  cost 
of  operating  any  works  built,  directly  chargeable  to  such  land, 
and  also  the  price  of  so  much  land  as  shall  on  subdivision  be 
used  for  roads  and  other  public  purposes,  and  also  such  sum 
as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  to  meet  unforeseen  contingencies. 

Sec.  18.  Every  approved  applicant  shall  enter  into  a 
contract  of  purchase  with  the  board,  which  contract  shall 
among  other  things  provide  that  the  purchaser  shall  pay  as  a 
cash  deposit  a  sum  equal  to  five  per  cent  of  the  sale  price  of 
the  allotment  and  in  addition  not  less  than  ten  per  cent  of 
the  cost  of  any  improvements  made  thereon,  and  such  appli- 
cant shall,  if  required  by  the  board,  enter  into  an  agreement 
to  apply  for  a  loan  from  the  federal  land  bank  under  provi- 
sions of  the  federal  farm  loan  act  for  an  amount  to  be  fixed 
by  the  board,  and  shall  pay  to  the  board  the  amount  of  any 
loan  so  made  as  a  partial  payment  on  such  land  and  im- 
provements. The  balance  due  on  the  land  shall  be  paid  in 
amortizing  payments  extending  over  a  period  to  be  fixed  by 
the  board,  not  exceeding  forty  years,  together  with  interest 
thereon  at  the  rate  of  five  per  cent  per  annum.  The  amount 
due  on  improvements  shall  be  paid  in  amortizing  payments 
extending  over  a  period  to  be  fixed  by  the  board  not  exceeding 
twenty  years,  together  with  interest  thereon  at  the  rate  of  five 
per  cent  per  annum.  The  repayment  of  loans  made  on  live 
stock  or  implements  shall  extend  over  a  period  to  be  fixed 
by  the  board  not  exceeding  five  years;  provided,  however,  in 
each  case,  that  the  settler  shall  have  the  right  on  any  install- 
ment date,  to  pay  any  or  all  installments  still  remaining  un- 
paid.     (As  amended,  Stats.  1919,  p.  843.) 

Sec.  19.  The  number  and  amount  of  yearly  or  half 
yearly  installments  of  principal  and  interest  to  be  paid  to  the 
board  under  contracts  of  purchase  shall  be  calculated  accord- 
ing to  any  table  adopted  or  approved  by  the  federal  farm  loan 
board. 

Sec.  20.     Every  contract  entered  into  between  the  board 


224      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

and  an  approved  purchaser  shall  contain  among  other  things 
provisions  that  the  purchaser  shall  cultivate  the  land  in  a 
manner  to  be  approved  by  the  board  and  shall  keep  in  good 
order  and  repair  all  buildings,  fences,  and  other  permanent 
improvements  situated  on  his  allotment,  reasonable  w^ear  and 
tear  and  damage  by  fire  excepted.  Each  settler  shall,  if 
required,  insure  and  keep  insured  against  fire  all  buildings  on 
his  allotment,  the  policies  therefor  to  be  made  out  in  favor 
of  the  board  and  to  be  in  such  amount  or  amounts  and  in 
such  insurance  companies  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  board. 

The  board  shall  have  power  in  its  own  name  to  insure  and 
keep  insured  against  fire  all  buildings  or  other  improvements 
on  any  of  the  lands  under  the  control  of  the  board,  and  any 
contract  of  insurance  heretofore  made  by  the  board  is  hereby 
ratified  and  confirmed.  The  board  shall  likewise  have  the 
power  in  any  contract  of  purchase  under  which  the  board 
purchases  lands  as  authorized  in  this  act,  to  provide  for  the 
return  by  the  board  to  the  owner  so  selling  to  the  state  of  any 
insurance  premiums  or  taxes  which  may  have  been  paid  on 
said  property  by  such  owner,  or  for  which  such  owner  may 
have  become  obligated  to  pay,  and  any  such  agreement  or 
contract  of  purchase  heretofore  made  by  the  board  is  hereby 
ratified  and  confirmed.      (As  amended,  Stats.  1919,  p.  843.) 

Sec.  21.  No  allotment  sold  under  the  provisions  of  this 
act  shall  be  transferred,  assigned,  mortgaged,  or  sublet  in 
whole  or  in  part,  without  the  consent  of  the  board  given  in 
writing,  until  the  settler  has  paid  for  his  farm  allotment  or 
farm  laborer's  allotment  in  full  and  complied  with  all  of  the 
terms  and  conditions  of  his  contract  of  purchase.  (As 
amended.  Stats.  19 19,  p.  844.) 

Sec.  22.  In  the  event  of  a  failure  of  a  settler  to  comply 
with  any  of  the  terms  of  his  contract  of  purchase  and  agree- 
ment with  the  board,  the  state  and  the  board  shall  have  the 
right  at  its  option  to  cancel  the  said  contract  of  purchase  and 
agreement  and  thereupon  shall  be  released  from  all  obligation 
in  law  or  equity  to  convey  the  property  and  the  settler  shall 


APPENDIX  225 

forfeit  all  right  thereto  and  all  payments  theretofore  made 
shall  be  deemed  to  be  rental  paid  for  occupancy.  The  board 
may  require  of  the  settler  such  mortgage  or  deed  of  trust  or 
other  instrument  as  may  be  necessary  under  the  terms  and 
conditions  of  the  contract  of  purchase  in  order  to  adequately 
pixjtect  and  secure  the  board.  There  may  be  included  in 
such  contract  of  purchase,  mortgage,  deed  of  trust  or  other 
instrument  any  conditions  with  reference  to  sale  of  the 
property  or  reconveyance  back  to  the  board  or  notice  of  such 
sale  or  reconveyance  as  may  in  the  discretion  of  the  board  be 
required  to  be  so  included  in  such  contract  of  purchase,  mort- 
gage, deed  of  trust  or  other  instrument,  in  order  to  so  ade- 
quately protect  the  said  board  in  the  premises ;  and  any  such 
contracts  of  purchase,  mortgages,  deeds  of  trust  or  other  in- 
struments heretofore  executed  are  hereby  confirmed.  The 
failure  of  the  board  or  of  the  state  to  exercise  any  option  to 
cancel,  or  other  privilege  under  the  contract  of  purchase  for 
any  default  shall  not  be  deemed  as  a  waiver  of  the  right  to 
exercise  the  option  to  cancel  or  other  privilege  under  the 
contract  of  purchase  for  any  default  thereafter  on  the  settler's 
part.  But  no  forfeiture  so  occasioned  by  default  on  the  part 
of  the  settler  shall  be  deemed  in  any  way  or  to  any  extent,  to 
impair  the  lien  and  security  of  the  mortgage  or  trust  instru- 
ment securing  any  loan  that  it  may  have  made  as  in  this  act 
provided.  The  board  shall  have  the  right  and  power  to 
enter  into  a  contract  of  purchase  for  the  sale  and  disposition 
of  any  land  forfeited  as  above  provided,  because  of  default 
on  the  part  of  a  settler,  and  this  right  may  be  exercised  in- 
definitely without  the  necessity  of  advertising.  (Added 
Stats.  1919,  p.  845.) 

Sec.  23.  Actual  residence  on  any  allotment  sold  under 
the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  commence  within  six  months 
from  the  date  of  the  approval  of  the  application  and  shall 
continue  for  at  least  eight  months  in  each  calendar  year  for 
at  least  ten  years  from  the  date  of  the  approval  of  the  said 
application,  unless  prevented  by  illness  or  some  other  cause 


226      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

satisfactory  to  the  board ;  provided,  that  in  case  any  farm 
allotment  disposed  of  under  this  act  is  returned  to  and  resold 
by  the  state,  the  time  of  residence  of  the  preceding  purchaser 
may  in  the  discretion  of  the  board  be  credited  to  the  subse- 
quent purchaser. 

Sec.  24.  The  power  of  eminent  domain  shall  be  exer- 
cised by  the  state  at  the  request  of  the  board  for  the  con- 
demnation of  water  rights  and  rights  of  way  for  roads,  canals, 
ditches,  dams,  and  reservoirs  necessarj'  or  desirable  for  carr>'- 
ing  out  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  on  request  of  the  board 
the  attorney  general  shall  bring  the  necessary  and  appropriate 
proceedings  authorized  by  law  for  such  condemnation  of 
said  water  rights  or  rights  of  way,  and  the  cost  of  all  water 
rights  or  rights  of  way  so  condemned  shall  be  paid  out  of  the 
land  settlement  fund  hereinafter  provided  for.  The  board 
shall  have  full  authority  to  appropriate  water  under  the  laws 
of  the  state  when  such  appropriation  is  necessary  or  desirable 
for  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  this  act. 

Sec.  25.  For  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  provisions 
of  this  act  the  sum  of  two  hundred  si.xty  thousand  dollars  is 
hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  state  treasury 
not  otherwise  appropriated.  Of  this  amount,  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  fifty  thousand  dollars  shall  constitute  a  revolving 
fund  to  be  known  as  the  "  land  settlement  fund,"  which  is 
calculated  to  be  returned  to  the  state  with  interest  at  the 
rate  of  four  per  cent  per  annum  within  a  period  of  fifty  years 
from  the  date  of  the  passage  of  this  act,  on  the  daily  balances 
representing  the  amounts  drawn  out  of  such  fund  and  thus 
depleting  the  fund  to  an  amount  less  than  said  sum  of  two 
hundred  fifty  thousand  dollars,  which  said  daily  balances 
shall  be  so  calculated  only  on  the  amounts  so  drawn  out  of 
such  fund,  from  the  date  of  the  passage  of  this  act.  The 
remaining  ten  thousand  dollars  shall  constitute  a  fund  avail- 
able for  the  payment  of  administrative  expenses  alone  until 
such  time  as  other  moneys  are  available  for  such  purpose 


APPENDIX  227 

from  the  sales  of  land  as  provided  for  in  this  act.  (As 
amended,  Stats.  1919,  p.  844.) 

Sec.  26.  The  state  board  of  control  is  hereby  authorized 
to  provide  for  advances  of  money  to  the  board  needed  to  meet 
contingent  exjjenses  to  such  an  amount,  not  exceeding  five 
thousand  dollars  as  the  said  board  of  control  shall  deem 
necessary. 

Sec.  27.  The  money  paid  by  settlers  on  land,  improve- 
ments, or  in  the  repayment  of  advances,  shall  be  deposited  in 
the  land  settlement  fund  and  be  available  under  the  same 
conditions  as  the  original  appropriation.  (As  amended, 
Stats.  1919,  p.  844.) 

Sec.  28.  The  board  shall  have  authority  to  make  all 
needed  rules  and  regulations  for  carrying  out  the  provisions 
of  this  act.     (As  amended,  Stats.  19 19,  p.  844.) 

Sec.  29.  The  board  is  hereby  authorized  to  investigate 
land  settlement  conditions  in  California  and  elsewhere  and 
to  submit  recommendations  for  such  legislation  as  may  be 
deemed  by  it  necessary  or  desirable. 

The  board  shall  render  an  annual  report  to  the  governor 
and  a  copy  thereof  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  which  re- 
port shall  be  filed  and  printed  as  required  by  sections  three 
hundred  thirty-two,  three  hundred  thirty-three,  three  hun- 
dred thirty-four,  three  hundred  thirty-six  and  three  hundred 
thirty-seven  of  the  Political  Code,  with  the  exception  that 
they  shall  be  so  filed  and  printed  annually  instead  of  bien- 
nially, as  provided  in  said  sections.  (As  amended,  Stats. 
1919,  p.  844.) 

Sec.  30.  The  act  of  the  legislature  entitled  "  An  act 
providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  investigate 
and  report  at  the  forty-second  session  of  the  legislature  rela- 
tive to  the  adoption  of  a  system  of  land  colonization  and 
rural  credits  and  making  an  appropriation  therefor,  approved 
May  17,  1915,  is  hereby  repealed. 

Sec.  31.  This  act  may  be  known  and  cited  as  the  "  land 
settlement  act." 


228      HELPING  MEN  OWN  FARMS 

Section  17  of  the  amending  act  of  191 9  reads  as  follows: 
(Stats.  19 19,  p.  845.) 

For  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  this  act 
and  of  the  act  amended  by  this  act,  the  sum  of  one  million 
dollars  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  state 
treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  which  sum  of  one  million 
dollars  is  calculated  to  be  returned  to  the  state  within  a 
period  of  fifty  years  from  the  date  of  this  appropriation  of 
one  million  dollars  going  into  effect,  with  interest  at  the  rate 
of  four  per  cent  per  annum  on  the  daily  balances  representing 
the  amounts  drawn  out  of  such  appropriation,  and  thus  de- 
pleting the  appropriation  to  an  amount  less  than  said  sum  of 
one  million  dollars.  The  state  controller  is  hereby  author- 
ized and  directed  to  draw  warrants  upon  such  funds  from 
time  to  time  upon  requisition  of  the  board  approved  by  the 
state  board  of  control,  and  the  state  treasurer  is  hereby 
authorized  and  directed  to  pay  such  warrants. 


PEINTBD    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


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